Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 193 is something he can't take away.
The Marquis of Lu looked at Su Changying standing opposite him, his eyes filled with pain.

“You are my eldest son. Your father taught you horsemanship, archery, military strategy, and formations. Like father, like son, you have always been your father’s pride.”

Lu Hou's voice choked with emotion. He reached out, wanting to pat Su Changying's head as he used to, but realized that his son had grown up completely. He was no longer the young vanguard who needed to go to the battlefield with him and was known as Little Lu Hou.

He was no longer the carefree boy who wore his heart on his sleeve, waiting for his father's praise.

“You’ve grown so much, you’re even taller than your father now. If the two of us were to fight, I might not be a match for you…”

Su Changying was his eldest son and the number one martial artist of his generation. How could he not value him? They were not only father and son, but also comrades-in-arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. It was just that the Su Changying of the past seemed to have stopped at that day four years ago and could never come back.

The person standing in front of him now seemed so unfamiliar to him.

He couldn't see through Su Changying.

"It was all fate's cruel joke. After the Shanming and Changyang incident, His Majesty sent me to war, and I was gone for a long time. Princess Changyang and Zhou Yan were both dead, and everyone thought you would never come back. So, Father..."

As the Marquis of Lu spoke, he lowered his head in shame.

“Father is a general, and he could die on the battlefield at any time. Changyu is not like you. He and A-Ling are twins from the same mother. He has been weaker since childhood, and his temperament is as gentle as his mother’s. After your accident, I inevitably spoiled him and A-Ling a bit.”

Once, I was injured, and it was a near-death experience. At that time, I thought, if I died, what would happen to them, the widow and her children? The Su family still has uncles and relatives. They were all well-behaved while I was alive. If I were gone... That's why I petitioned the emperor to make Chang Yu's succession to the title a certainty... I never expected..."

Su Changying looked at Marquis Lu quietly without saying a word.

The ancestral hall was very quiet when suddenly it started raining outside the window.

The raindrops pattered against the windowpane, like popping beans, making the weather increasingly irritating. As the saying goes, one autumn rain brings a chill, and with the rain came the wind.

Zhou Zhao suddenly chuckled, breaking the silence in the room.

“I didn’t expect Changying to come back alive,” Zhou Zhao said, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect to the Marquis of Lu. “Uncle, your worries are no longer worries.”

"There are two solutions to this worry: one is, who can snatch something from Changying's hands? The other is, who can snatch something from Changying's hands?"

When Lu Hou heard Zhou Zhao's words, he was momentarily stunned. Why did she say the same thing twice?
Upon closer examination, however, the Marquis of Lu was startled, for he understood the meaning behind Zhou Zhao's words.

Firstly, he wanted Changying to inherit the title. Changying was his eldest son, who had fought alongside him in numerous battles and held considerable prestige in the army. He was highly skilled in martial arts and had a ruthless advisor like Zhou Zhao to assist him; who could possibly snatch the title of Marquis of Lu from him? Who would dare to even consider it?
Secondly, it would allow Changyu to inherit the title. After his death, Changyu would no longer face useless relatives, but Su Changying. Aunt Liu and her two sons would have no way to take anything from Su Changying; even if he gave them a mountain of gold, they wouldn't be able to hold onto it.

Once Lu Hou understood, he unleashed his full power and his gaze toward Zhou Zhao turned hostile.

Zhou Zhao sneered inwardly, but her eyes reddened. "It's not that we insist on fighting."

Changying has been missing for four years, and now he's back from Tianying City. His Majesty is watching. Even the Marquis of Lu doesn't acknowledge him as his eldest son and has banished him from the family...

If a son cannot even gain the trust of his father, how can he expect the trust of the emperor or the people of the world?
What will be the fate of a military general who cannot gain the trust of others? I suppose no one understands this better than my uncle.

What Changying wanted was never a title, but a way to survive and a loving father.

The Marquis of Lu's previously fierce aura gradually dissipated, and his eyes slowly reddened.

Zhou Zhao watched coldly, her eyes lowered. She seemed devoid of her sharp edges, resembling a pitiful little girl driven to desperation. "Uncle, he is Changying! Changying!"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Uncle, do you know why Father sent me to the Court of Justice? My adopted brother is just like Changyu. Without Zhou Yan, the Zhou family is doomed."

Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Lu couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for his kind, and he too shed tears along with Zhou Zhao.

Su Changying, standing to the side, felt a complex mix of emotions as he watched the two weeping figures. He found himself unable to get a word in edgewise. He sighed softly, took out two handkerchiefs from his robes, and handed one to Zhou Zhao and the other to his father, Marquis Lu.

Weren't they here to eat?
Su Changying thought to herself silently.

Zhou Zhao wiped his eyes and bowed to the spirit tablet in the ancestral hall. "Uncle, those pastries and pepper wine were specially bought by Changying and me. And the bamboo slips contain your new poems, which are... your favorites."

Changying had originally said that her uncle wanted them to come over for dinner... but we had official business to attend to, so we went back first and will come again next time.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes reddened, he bowed to the Marquis of Lu again. Seeing this, Su Changying also bowed and took his leave.

The two walked in silence towards the gate of the mansion. When they reached the lake, Zhou Zhao suddenly stopped and looked in the direction of the cut-down plum tree. He stared blankly for a while before pulling Su Changying away.

After leaving the mansion and passing through a long alley, Su Changying secretly went to see Zhou Zhao.

But seeing no trace of sadness on her face or in her eyes, he couldn't help but clear his throat.

"Stop coughing! Ask whatever you want to ask!"

Su Changying looked over with bright eyes, feeling as if a warm spring breeze had swept through his heart.

"Zhaozhao, you are so good to me."

Zhou Zhao was truly choked this time. She leaned against the wall of the alley and coughed incessantly. "Why did you suddenly call me Zhao Zhao?"

"The bright sun and moon hang on the long ribbon."

When Zhou Zhao heard Su Changying utter these two sentences, he felt a sense of disorientation, as if the world had turned upside down. This was clearly a letter of remembrance that Su Changying had written for him, but now it seemed like she was teaching him.

Su Changying smiled. He loved Chang'an because Zhou Zhao was there, someone who would wholeheartedly protect him.

Zhou Zhao rolled her eyes at Su Changying, "The title of Marquis Lu can only be yours. This title is also due to your military merits. So what if Su Changyu's birth mother becomes the legal wife? He is still a son of a concubine. Even if the title and fief are returned to His Majesty in the future, it cannot be given to him. Otherwise, it would be unfair to your deceased mother."

I had overestimated your father, expecting him to take the initiative to invite you, but some people have lost their minds and are being too biased.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he was quite angry.

"Lord Lu was indeed wise and brave on the battlefield; he was a good general, but not a good father. Remember not to count on him."

Su Changying listened without showing any anger on his face. He looked at Zhou Zhao and said, "Yes, I have Zhao Zhao, that's enough."