Chapter 249: Returning Home
The news of Su Rende recovering memory spread, and the first thing he did after recovering memory was to recognize his wife and daughter, and he requested an imperial decree to confer the title of Imperial Lady on his legal wife.
When the old eunuch from the Imperial Palace went to Peach Blossom Workshop to read the imperial decree, there were many outsiders present, so the news of who Su Rende’s wife and daughter were spread like it had grown wings to all parts of the capital city.
Originally, Peach Blossom Workshop was a gold-selling den for women, but now it’s great, men, women, young and old all come to join in the fun.
Peach Blossom Workshop closed its doors to visitors.
Jia Chunni lay at the door, peeking outside through the door crack, and said to Jiang Jing beside her: “What should we do? Our shop assistants don’t dare to go out, afraid that those people outside will ask questions.”
“They are just curious about Yaoguang and godmother now, once this novelty wears off, they won’t be as crazy as they are now.”
“Then why don’t you go out and try?”
Jiang Jing shook her head like a rattle drum: “No, I don’t want to.”
Noisy voices came from outside, besides the discussions of the people, there were also sounds of gongs and drums.
The two sisters looked at each other and finally couldn’t hold back and opened the door. They walked to the doorway, stretched their necks to look, and saw a grand team.
Su Rende rode on a tall horse, wearing red clothes. If there were wedding sedan chairs and joyful music, people who didn’t know would think he was coming to fetch the bride.
“Godfather, what are you doing?” Jiang Jing asked.
Su Rende got off the horseback, chuckling as he said: “I’m here to pick you up to live in the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion!”
“Godmother hasn’t agreed yet, how about waiting for godmother to consider it?” Jiang Jing asked.
“Your godmother and Yaoguang’s identities have been exposed, it’s not too safe to stay here anymore, after all, I have quite a few enemies. I’ll go talk to them now.”
Su Rende was about to go in when he saw Zhang Zhaodi and Su Yaoguang coming out from inside.
“Dad, no need to say more, we’ll go with you. But we won’t pack our luggage, whenever we want to come back and stay for a few days, we’ll come back.”
“Alright.” Su Rende reached out his hand, pulled Zhang Zhaodi, and took her out the door. “This is the sedan chair I prepared. Back then when I married you, everything was simplified, now let’s treat it as remarrying.”
Su Yaoguang: “…”
She felt like she was superfluous, should she stay behind?
“Yaoguang, I’ve already sent someone to notify Wangshu, he’ll go directly to the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion when he returns from the Ministry of Personnel.” Su Rende said.
“Okay.”
Su Rende led Zhang Zhaodi into the wedding sedan chair.
In the crowd, the people were all discussing how fortunate the owner of Peach Blossom Workshop was, her husband turned out to be the Great General Who Protects the Nation.
“Everyone, you only see her in her glory, but you didn’t see how one woman raised her daughter with her own hands for all those years. I heard…”
Su Rende was extremely ostentatious, as if afraid others wouldn’t know he had found his wife and daughter.
They returned to the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion with gongs and drums like this, and after this commotion, even the most uninformed now knew who the madam and eldest daughter of the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion were.
Xiao Yanci stood at the doorway, seeing off the artisan master in charge of repairing the courtyard. As he was about to return to his room, he heard such joyful music and thought it was some family’s wedding, so he couldn’t help stopping to take a look.
When the gong and drum team stopped at the door of the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion, he found it even stranger.
Su Rende got off the horse, lifted the curtain, and pulled the person from the sedan chair out.
When Zhang Zhaodi walked out from inside, Xiao Yanci’s eyes were full of shock.
He stared blankly at Zhang Zhaodi, and Su Yaoguang coming out from another sedan chair, the questions in his heart got answers, but this answer was not what he wanted to see.
Su Rende’s surname is Su, Su Yaoguang also has the surname Su, so Su Rende’s wife and daughter are Zhang Zhaodi and Su Yaoguang?
In the previous life, Su Yaoguang married him, but he rarely let her go out, so she naturally had no chance to meet Su Rende, let alone know that Su Rende was her biological father.
As for Zhang Zhaodi, later he obtained an official position after passing the exams. Although he didn’t divorce and remarry, he didn’t want Zhang Zhaodi, this fierce mother-in-law, to come to the capital city and ruin his good things. Zhang Zhaodi wasn’t as easy to fool as Su Yaoguang, once she stepped into the capital city and lived under the same roof as them, she would likely discover all those things between him and Jiang Yihuan.
Listening to Jiang Yihuan’s instigation, he had his subordinate who went to pick up Zhang Zhaodi deal with her on the road, and fake it as if she was killed by bandits.
If he hadn’t assassinated Zhang Zhaodi, but let her go to the capital city, she might have met Su Rende. Once she met Su Rende, the latter might recover memory, and then he would have the Great General Who Protects the Nation as his father-in-law.
Although Su Rende was a military general and he was only a civil official, the Emperor trusted him, and he could speak up in front of the Emperor. In other words, even if he didn’t go to the Imperial Palace to speak good words for himself to the Emperor, the Emperor would still promote him for the sake of his own father-in-law.
What happened to Su Rende in the previous life later?
It seems like… someone poisoned him, and he died in his own courtyard.
The one who poisoned him was a woman, a woman from his mansion. Then, that woman was sentenced to strangulation. After that, there was no more Great General Who Protects the Nation.
Xiao Yanci’s eyes turned red.
Earlier he was still wondering who the daughter of the Great General Who Protects the Nation was, if she was pretty, if she was betrothed, and now learning that person was the one he hated most, this feeling was worse than swallowing a cockroach.
And Zhou Wangshu…
All of this clearly belonged to him, but now it was cheaply taken by Zhou Wangshu.
Su Yaoguang sensed a strange gaze in the crowd, followed the gaze over, and saw Xiao Yanci with a ferocious expression.
“Why is this ghost haunting us?” Su Yaoguang muttered to herself.
“Eldest daughter, please come inside.” The butler said attentively.
“Butler, whose house is opposite?” Su Yaoguang asked.
The butler followed her gaze, saw Xiao Yanci standing there, and the obviously dilapidated courtyard.
“This subordinate hasn’t paid attention either, previously no one lived opposite, now it seems they plan to move in, this subordinate will go inquire clearly later.”
“Alright, sorry to trouble you.” Su Yaoguang said.
“No trouble, no trouble, eldest daughter please come inside.”
The General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion had never been as lively as today. The butler was an old man who had retreated from the battlefield with Su Rende, always very worried about Su Rende, advising him to find a mistress of the house, and while his age wasn’t too old, have another son to inherit the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion. Now it’s good, the mistress of the house came, and brought the Great General’s offspring, the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion finally had some popularity.
“I really want to go back and ask my mom if my dad didn’t die early, but was out earning an official position for me!” A middle-aged man carrying a shoulder pole said enviously, looking at the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion.
The people nearby laughed.
“No way, I have to go back and ask too, maybe I also have a dad who’s an official?”
“Haha…”
“You all stop dreaming. The boss of Peach Blossom Workshop never lacks silver, even if they didn’t recognize this dad, their days would still be good. We shouldn’t daydream, we should strive for ourselves! You don’t have a rich official dad, but you must let your son and daughter have one! Starting from our generation to work hard, our sons and daughters won’t have to envy others.”
After Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi entered the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion, looking at the simple and grand courtyard, the more they looked, the more they liked it.
To have such a large courtyard in the capital city, it’s not something that can be done just with money, one must have real power.
“Everything here was earned by my husband risking his life.” Zhang Zhaodi said, “The better you live now, the more you can imagine how much he suffered on the battlefield.”
Zhang Zhaodi’s eyes reddened, full of heartache.
Previously she harbored resentment, even unwilling to forgive him for forgetting everything after amnesia, making her a widow for over a dozen years. But at this moment, she completely let it go.
Su Rende originally wanted to make his wife and daughter happy, but didn’t expect his legal wife to first think of feeling sorry for him. This feeling of someone caring for him was really good, and even after over a dozen years apart, their feelings were still as sincere as before.
This was true love.
“It’s okay now, haven’t I come back safe and sound?” Su Rende hugged Zhang Zhaodi, “Alright, Zhaodi don’t be sad.”
Su Yaoguang shivered.
Her mom was someone who could chase local ruffians all over the village with a kitchen knife, now becoming so delicate and dependent, it was really a bit scary.
Better to leave this space here for them!
She saw the butler coming over, went to greet him, and asked: “Found out?”
“Found out.” The butler lowered his voice and said, “Opposite was originally a Wang family villa, vacant for seven or eight years. Now they’re renovating inside, looks like they’re moving in. The one in charge of the renovation is the Wang family’s newly engaged prospective son-in-law, seems to be the newly selected Third Scholar, same cohort as our family’s son-in-law.”
“I know him.” Su Yaoguang said.
“Is eldest daughter friends with the prospective son-in-law opposite?”
“On the contrary, enemies.” Su Yaoguang said, “I don’t want to see him, think of a way to cause some damage, don’t let them move in.”
Home is a place to make people happy, if bumping into someone who makes one lose appetite every day, that would affect the mood too much.
The butler understood and said: “Eldest daughter rest assured, this is the first task you entrusted to this subordinate, this subordinate definitely won’t disappoint you.”
Su Rende was discussing with Zhang Zhaodi about arranging his wife’s sister and her family.
“I asked them, they don’t want to come to the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion, but want to stay at Peach Blossom Workshop to guard the shop.” Zhang Zhaodi said, “Brother-in-law is also a Presented Scholar, did quite well in the exams, presumably an official position will be arranged for him, then they’ll have their own little family. Jing’er is my goddaughter, we’ll prepare a room for her, she can stay when she wants, or stay at Peach Blossom Workshop. Home is a place to feel secure and relaxed, no need to force it. Not to mention them, Yaoguang and I will also often stay at Peach Blossom Workshop, after all sometimes business is too busy.”
“I plan to hold a banquet for you, to introduce you to all the colleagues and official family women.”
“You arrange it.” Zhang Zhaodi said.
Zhou Wangshu came out from the Ministry of Personnel and was directly taken to the General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion.
He should be the newly Appointed Top Scholar who got his official position appointment the fastest ever.
“What position did the Ministry of Personnel arrange for you?” Su Yaoguang saw him return, went up to greet him, and asked curiously.
“Guess.”
“I heard my dad say that in previous years, newly Appointed Top Scholars all went directly to places like the Hanlin Academy.”
“I’m different.” Zhou Wangshu said, “I went to… the Ministry of Personnel.”
Generally speaking, newly appointed officials aren’t assigned to such important posts. Zhou Wangshu getting his official position so quickly was already special, now directly giving him such an important position was just short of writing ‘We have backing’ on his face. The most infuriating part was that this appointment was arranged by the Emperor, meaning his biggest backer was the Emperor.
“Then our family has double celebrations.” Su Yaoguang said, “Come, let’s go see our new rooms.”
The General Who Protects the Nation’s Mansion was so large, but not many owners, so the courtyards of the two pairs of owners were extremely far apart.
Xiao Yanci was exhausted, extremely sleepy. He originally just took a nap, planning to continue planning what to renovate next after waking.
In a daze, a strange smell came to his nose. He sat up, puzzled, looking ahead, and saw thick smoke.
He hurriedly ran out, only to see the entire courtyard had caught a big fire.
At this time, someone was beating around with a basin, shouting loudly while beating: “Help! Fire! Fire!”
Xiao Yanci wanted to find water to put out the fire, but this was an abandoned courtyard, not yet officially moved into, the well in the courtyard was also abandoned, not a drop of water.
He ran out and shouted to the people around: “My house is on fire, quickly help me put it out. Whoever helps me put out the fire, I’ll give ten taels per person as reward.”
The originally watching people, upon hearing this, immediately ran back home to fetch water to put out the fire.
But this was the official road, nearby courtyards were all official mansions, those people didn’t live here, by the time they carried buckets back to put out the fire, the fire had already grown uncontrollable, getting bigger and bigger, fire snakes swallowing the entire courtyard.
Fortunately, the two neighboring houses took measures in advance, chopping out firebreaks when they discovered the fire, not letting it spread over.
Xiao Yanci’s face alternated between pale and green, eyes full of anger.
Was Heaven toying with him?
Why was everything going wrong for him in this life?
Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu watched the commotion here from the crowd.
Zhou Wangshu’s voice reached Xiao Yanci’s ears: “Yaoguang, do you think this family did something bad, otherwise why would disaster come to their door?”
“Some people do all kinds of bad things, thinking there’s no evidence so nothing can be done to them, but people do, Heaven watches.” Su Yaoguang said, “You must never learn from those conscienceless ones. Heaven will eventually take back those who do all kinds of bad things.”
Xiao Yanci clenched his fists.
Laugh! Let them laugh first. When he climbs to a high position, he will definitely step on them in the mud and crush them hard.
Wang Ruyan got out of the horse-drawn carriage, looking at the fire in front of her, her face also not looking good.
“How did it become like this?”
Xiao Yanci said: “The weather is too hot. Sorry, for this to happen, I’ll think of a way to remedy it.”
“How to remedy? My dad said this is the wedding house arranged for us. Now the courtyard is gone, turned into ruins, are we to rebuild a house on these ruins?” Wang Ruyan looked at Xiao Yanci, “Do you have that much silver?”
He could already take out silver to repair the old courtyard, which surprised her, rebuilding such a large house was no small sum, did he still have that ability?
