Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 11 Prophecy
In the evening, Su Qing, the current head of the Su family, returned.

Su Qing was still a little weak in the knees when he returned home. When the old lady asked what had happened, Su Qing only said, "Another person committed suicide last night. Not only did the person commit suicide, but the whole family was wiped out!"

Madam Su shuddered after hearing this: "What on earth happened?"

Su Qing took a sip of tea to calm himself before continuing, "I heard that the newly appointed Imperial Guard is even more ruthless than Zhou Xing. Under the fabricated charges they fabricated, no one could withstand the tortures they invented, such as the "Ding Bai Hou" (Swallowing Strike). In front of these cruel officials, no matter how high an official is, they are like fish on the chopping board, at their mercy. Even if you are the Prime Minister, what's the use? Once you fall into the hands of the jailers, you lose all your dignity!"

"Then who committed suicide this time?"

"Happy phase!"

This is the 40th prime minister who has died since the empress took over the throne as the empress dowager, and due to the frame-up by cruel officials, this number is likely to continue to increase.

"So, as long as our Su family stays out of the spotlight, it will be fine. Even if we stay in this position of Shang Ni Feng Yu forever, even if we don't want fame, wealth, or glory, as long as we can ensure that the Su family is safe and worry-free for the rest of our lives, that will be enough!"

"Yes, mother!"

"Ah, it's lonely up there!" Old Madam Su sighed.

At this time, the Third Madam, Mrs. Qiu, knocked on the door again and walked in, reporting to Old Madam Su: "Ajia, the child has fallen asleep. I think he rushed all the way to the Su family, so he rested early."

"Have you packed up the things she brought?" asked Old Lady Su.

Mrs. Qiu shook her head. "Not yet. This girl is extremely cautious. She only let her daughter-in-law take a look at a jade pendant and then immediately took it away. How could anyone dare to touch her bag? Even the maids around her are extremely arrogant and domineering. Today, Sanniang, Si Niang, Ba Niang, and Jiu Niang all went to her yard out of curiosity to take a look, but were quickly chased out by that maid!"

"How can this be? A lowly servant is causing such a commotion in my Su family! If nothing works, just sell her off and find an obedient servant to live with her!"

"Ajia, I'm afraid we can't just sell this girl off. She was originally brought here by the Second Madam!"

Only then did Mrs. Su calm down.

"So there's nothing to be found out? How did they survive on that farm? Have you asked?"

Qiu's face was a little embarrassed, and after a long pause she replied, "From what the maid said, her daughter is popular. The uncles, aunts, and other relatives in Taoyuan Village all like her very much and often send them food. Moreover, Ah Shu can do some needlework to earn money, and she also farms on the farm, so she can be self-sufficient and won't starve to death!"

There was another sentence that Qiu didn't say, which was: "We have hands, feet, and hearts. We are much better than those who have hands and feet but no heart!"

"Have good relationships with people? How can she, an unmarried girl, have good relationships with a bunch of rural peasants and common people? Wouldn't that be a disgrace to our Su family? She is indeed sick, just like her mother of unknown origin!"

Mrs. Qiu and Old Madam Su were talking back and forth, leaving Su Qing, the head of the Su family, who was standing nearby, feeling baffled.

After enduring for a long time, I finally found an opportunity to interrupt and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Madam Su then said, "Erlang's daughter is back. Do you remember her? The one with a bit of a mental issue. What was her name?"

Qiu quickly continued, "I heard from the maid that his name is Murong Huan, a name given to him by the Second Lord!"

Your surname is Murong, not Su?
Murong is the surname of the woman of unknown origin!

"The maid also asked when she would hold a coming-of-age ceremony for her daughter and when she would be included in the Su family's genealogy?"

"You already have the surname Murong, yet you still want to be included in the Su family's genealogy. How shameless is that?"

After hearing this, the Su family head finally understood what was going on. At the same time, a storm surged in his heart.

Is it my second brother’s daughter who has returned?

At the beginning, his mother wanted to send her to the farm without giving her any food and taking care of her at all. He felt really bad about it. Before his father went to the northern border, he repeatedly reminded him to treat his second brother's daughter well, after all, she was his second brother's only flesh and blood.

Later, he asked a few villagers living in Taoyuan Village to take care of him occasionally. After that, he became busy with his official career and gradually forgot about this matter.

Recalling this, Su Qing continued, "Mother, it was you who disagreed with my second brother's daughter having the surname Su, so I gave her the surname Murong!"

Madam Su's face instantly darkened. She'd asked someone to calculate why the girl hadn't been allowed the surname Su. She'd found out that her horoscope conflicted with the Su family, so she couldn't have anything to do with them. Erlang was stubborn, so she simply let the girl take her mother's surname. After that woman and Erlang passed away, she hadn't considered changing her name or including her in the family tree. "Mother, since you're back, let's put her in the family tree! It'll keep a bloodline for my second brother!"

"So what if she's on the family tree? A girl like her can't continue the Su family's lineage!"

"As for the coming-of-age ceremony, there's no need to make a big deal about it. Just ask the kitchen to prepare some delicious snacks and send them over! Just let her enjoy the meal happily!"

After Madam Su finished explaining everything, she looked exhausted and said to Mrs. Qiu, "Forget it, it's getting late. Let's all go back and rest! I'm tired too!"

"Yes, Ah Jia, the daughter-in-law went back!"

Just as Qiu was about to leave, Old Madam Su stopped her and said, "By the way, your father's... May Day is coming soon. Can you prepare some gifts for him?"

Qiu came from a prominent family. Her ancestors could be traced back to General Qiu Shou of the Western Wei Dynasty. Her father was General Qiu Shenji of the Jinwu Guard, who was deeply favored by the empress.

Like Zhou Xing, he was also a cruel official.

If she had not chosen Qiu for Erlang, the Su family might have been murdered by cruel officials. Although the incident with Murong happened later, fortunately, the third daughter-in-law was broad-minded, kind and generous. She was afraid that her father would take action against the Su family, so she remarried Su Sanlang. In the first year after her marriage, she gave birth to a legitimate son, Su Liulang.

Originally, she wanted to hand over the Su family's household affairs to the third daughter-in-law, Qiu, but Qiu refused, saying that the wife of the first house was there and it would be inappropriate for her to take the lead to avoid discord between the sisters-in-law.

Listen, what a good daughter-in-law! Erlang refused her at first, so Sanlang got her instead.

When she thought of Sanlang, Mrs. Su had a headache again. He was an uneducated playboy, with no other merits except for his good looks. It was a blessing that Mrs. Qiu could tolerate him.

Until now, she still didn't know whether Qiu chose to marry Sanlang out of anger or because she was attracted by his looks.

While the old lady was still pondering the past, Qiu replied with a smile, "It has been delivered. Don't worry, my father still cares about us and occasionally speaks well of us in front of the saint."

"That's good, that's good!"

As long as the Saint doesn't become suspicious, the Su family will be able to survive this turmoil.

After hearing this, Mrs. Su felt very comfortable and satisfied. She took the hand of an old woman next to her and went to rest. Mrs. Qiu also returned to her room.

But Su Qing, the head of the Su family, was a little worried, so he went to the yard where Murong Huan was to take a look. He saw smoke rising from the yard and a little girl busying around, not knowing what she was doing.

Su Qing thought the fire had broken out again, and hurriedly called a few servants to put out the fire. But when he ran to the place where the green smoke was rising, he saw a pot on the fire. Something was frying in it, making a sizzling sound and the aroma was fragrant.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making food for my daughter. I just found some eggs and some leftover dough from the kitchen. Now I'm going to make her some Hu pancakes!"

After he finished speaking, he looked up and was shocked.

Ah Shu was shocked and said, "You...you are the eldest son? The current head of the Su family?"

……

At this time, Murong Huan also walked out of the house. Seeing Su Qing, the head of the Su family, wearing a light blue official uniform, she also bowed respectfully and said, "Uncle!"

Su Qing looked at her with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes, as if he was lamenting the changes in the girl's appearance. She had grown into such a graceful and beautiful girl. He was stunned for a long moment before he forced a smile and nodded: "Hey, you, are back?"

"Ok!"

"I'm glad you're back! I'm glad you're back! From now on, just treat your uncle as your father. Tell me if you need anything."

Murong Huan nodded again, staring at Su Qing for a long time in a daze, and finally said, "Okay!"

Seeing that there was nothing more to say, Su Qing told Murong Huan to rest early and walked out of the courtyard. At this moment, he suddenly heard Murong Huan say, "I have a word of advice for you, uncle. Don't get too close to the Qiu and Zhou families. You will get into trouble!"

(End of this chapter)