Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 11 The Grandmother Passing By
"Horizontal! Sweep!"

"hack!"

The morning sun rose slowly over the distant mountains. The women of the Fu family were busy with housework. Old Liu was repairing a wheelbarrow in the yard, and Fu Zihou was waving his sword.

Time passed slowly, and as the morning sun gradually turned into a scorching sun, Fu Zihou put away his sword and prepared to go to his teacher when he suddenly heard a noise outside the garden.

At first Fu Zihou thought he had misheard and didn't take it seriously, until he heard the shouting directly this time.

"Hou'er!"

Hearing the voice, Fu Zihou quickly stood up and looked in the direction of the voice. Then he saw a thin and crouching old woman entering the garden.

“Grandma!!!”

When he saw who it was, Fu Zihou was immediately surprised and a little bit unbelieving.

Throwing down the wooden stick in his hand, Fu Zihou hurried forward and carefully extended his hand to support the old woman.

"Why is grandma coming here today?"

Fu Zihou asked, somewhat uncontrollably excited.

Looking at the old woman in front of him, Fu Zihou couldn't help but look her up and down, fearing that his elderly grandmother would fall or bump into something on the way over.

If there is someone in this world that Fu Zihou cares about the most, it must be his grandmother in front of him.

Fu Zihou still can't forget the moment when he came here and saw his grandmother for the first time. Both her appearance and tone were exactly the same as in his previous life. Even the caring look in her eyes seemed extremely familiar.

That day, Fu Zihou, who had experienced the loss of his grandmother and thought he would never cry again, lost control for the first time. He grabbed his grandmother's clothes and cried heart-wrenchingly. His voice became hoarse and his eyes were swollen.

The grandmother was so angry that she glared at Tao and Fu Zihou's father Fu Rui all day long. Even Aong and others were looked at with suspicion by the grandmother, wondering if someone was bullying her grandson.

"I miss my grandson, come and see my son!"

The old woman was skinny, but when she looked at Fu Zihou, her smile made her look so young.

"Slow down, grandma. Come in and sit down. You must not have eaten anything. I'll go get you something delicious!"

Fu Zihou looked at his grandmother's thin hand, which was tightly holding his own. As he spoke, he felt countless regrets when he thought about the prey his cousin brought home last night, which had been eaten up and there was nothing left.

At this moment, Fu Zihou even wanted to pull out his own heart. Why did he open his mouth last night? Couldn't he save it until today and let his grandmother taste it? It must have been difficult for his grandmother to eat those foods in the past.

"Eat it! No hurry! No hurry!"

Looking at Fu Zihou's appearance, the old woman's smile never stopped.

Seeing Mr. Liu coming over, the old woman was naturally familiar with him and quickly greeted him with a familiar look on her face.

At this time, Tao, who heard the scream in the house, had already walked out of the room. When he saw the old woman, tears welled up in his eyes instantly.

"Auntie!"

Tao shouted, then ran to the old woman while crying.

"Mother, how come you have time to come here today?"

As Tao spoke, she couldn't help but look at her mother carefully.

"Come and see my grandson!"

The old woman smiled and said that until now, she was reluctant to let go of Fu Zihou's hand.

The grandfather and aunt Zhang at home also saw Fu Zihou's grandmother coming, and they all came to the door to greet her, asking the old woman to come in and sit down.

"Mother Tao, come in and sit down!"

Old Liu stood aside and watched everyone greet each other. Then he bowed and raised his hand to signal the old woman to come in.

Seeing the old woman nod with a smile, and then walk towards the house with the help of Fu Zihou and Tao, Mr. Liu couldn't help feeling a little emotional when looking at Fu Zihou accompanying the old woman.

In the past, in the eyes of the villagers, the young master was a fool, but in the eyes of the Fu family, he was very sensible. Only in front of this old woman would he be as excited as a child, and sometimes even a little at a loss.

Every time Mr. Liu saw this rare look, he couldn't help but feel emotional.

"Madam, please take Mother Tao away first. I will go out and take a look!"

Old Liu noticed that when Tao was supporting her mother, she turned her head and looked outside the courtyard behind her. Then her eyes were filled with tears and a sad look appeared. Knowing why, Old Liu whispered.

Having come to the Fu family for some years, Mr. Liu knew clearly that the relationship between the Tao family and Fu Rui had been completely broken after Fu Rui went on business.

People who are born into aristocratic families, especially those with higher reputations, have a deep-rooted idea that they value their family's reputation more, unless there is any other reason.

Even if they are already married, people from aristocratic families usually hope that their partner's daily words and actions will not cause gossip and hurt their reputation.

Therefore, although the Tao family, like the Fu family, gradually declined in the early years, they were so angry that they cut off all ties with them after learning that Fu Rui was doing business.

"Thank you!"

Tao looked at Mr. Liu with gratitude.

........................

Inside the wooden house.

Fu Zihou listened to his grandfather talking to his grandmother, and sat quietly beside her.

Looking at his grandmother standing beside him, Fu Zihou felt a little sad at the tip of his nose, as if he was afraid that his grandmother would leave. He kept holding her wrinkled hand.

"Mother, can't you stay here?"

Tao asked, looking at her mother reluctantly.

Before the old woman could answer, she heard Fu Zihou, who was standing beside her, trying to keep her in an almost pleading tone: "Grandma, can you please not leave? Let Hou'er take care of you from now on!"

"You!"

Looking at her grandson's appearance, the old woman looked at Tao unhappily, as if blaming Hou'er for being young and ignorant, and how could he not understand even a mother like you.

Feeling her grandson's hand tightly holding hers, the old woman turned and looked at her grandson with a smile.

"Zihou is still young and has not yet started a family. When Zihou gets married, can he take grandma to live with us? Grandma promised Houer that when Houer gets married and has a big mansion with maids, servants and scouts, grandma will live with him. Grandma also wants to see her daughter and grandson every day!" the old woman said softly.

As the old woman finished speaking, Fu Zihou looked serious.

"Really? Grandma doesn't lie to Hou'er?"

Fu Zihou's eyes were full of suspicion, as if he was worried that his grandmother was lying.

"Really! Grandma promised Houer!"

The old woman smiled and nodded.

Seeing her son's innocent look, Tao's eyes instantly turned red. She turned her head away and gently wiped away the tears in her eyes with her hands.

How could Mrs. Tao not know that her mother was only comforting Hou'er? In this chaotic time of war, her mother didn't know when they would see each other again, not to mention that her young son didn't even know what the big mansion his mother was talking about meant.

That was not the former Fu family's courtyard, a real mansion. Even in some remote cities, there might not be one.

Tao also knew that her mother was worried. The world was in turmoil and disasters were everywhere. The Fu family's situation was no longer the same as before. It would be enough to take care of an old person. If her mother came again and encountered any turmoil, she was worried that the old woman would only add to the burden of the Fu family.

A mother always endures hardships in silence, never enjoys herself, and is unwilling to add any burden to her children.

"Mother, why do my elder brother and his friends have to go to such a far place?"

When Tao thought about the time when she would be able to see her mother again, she felt indescribable reluctance in her eyes and her heart was trembling and confused.

"Your elder brother said that he is an old acquaintance of Li Mao from the Li family in Guzang County, Wuwei County! Nowadays, there are turmoil everywhere and bandits are everywhere. Your elder brother heard that in Wuwei County, the Li family and other noble families need a lot of scholars to help them in order to prevent turmoil, so he decided to go there."

The old woman looked at her daughter with a look of reluctance and some heartache in her eyes.

Sighing, the old woman looked out the window.

"No need to sit down! It will be too late if we don't leave now! We can't let your father, elder brother, and second brother wait too long!"

The old woman said softly that it was not easy for her to come and see her daughter and grandson. She was reluctant to leave, but she also knew that if she didn't leave, she would delay her journey.

"Mother, take this with you!"

Tao knew that she couldn't keep her mother, so she had to get up and give her mother food.

Grandfather and aunts Zhang and Tai knew that the old woman was about to hurry on her way, so they all stood up and accompanied Fu Zihou to see the old woman out of the house.

In the yard, the old woman looked at everyone in the Fu family, and then looked at Tao, whose face was covered with tears.

"Don't send it off! Just let Hou Er send it off!"

The old woman thought about her children and grandchildren's attitude towards her daughter, so she took the initiative to ask her daughter Tao to stop and send her to the gate of the small garden.

"Auntie!"

Tao watched her mother turn and leave, opened her mouth and cried. After her tears blurred all her vision, she slowly squatted on the ground, crying louder and louder.

The old man sighed, and Zhang and Tai reached out to comfort Tao with some heartache.

Fu Zihou and his grandmother walked out of the yard. He looked back at his mother's face, feeling distressed. He then looked back at his grandmother beside him and found that although her grandmother did not look back, tears had already welled up in her eyes. She gently raised her hand to wipe them away.

"Grandma, don't cry. I promised you that within three to five years, I will give you a big mansion. Then you can live at home! Together with my mother!"

Fu Zihou comforted.

My uncle was going to take my grandfather's family to seek refuge with the Wuwei Li family. Although Fu Zihou did not know that Li Mao, his teacher once said that there was a man named Li Gui among the Wuwei Li family.

If Fu Zihou remembered correctly, Li Gui surrendered to Li Tang in the future. Although he rebelled again later, Li Gui's family was unpopular in Wuwei, so Li Tang did not need to take any action to suppress the rebellion.

"Okay, Hou'er loves grandma, and grandma is waiting for that day!"

The old woman wiped her tears and smiled lovingly. Perhaps even she did not believe what Fu Zihou said. After all, in her eyes, her grandson was still too young and did not know what a mansion represented.

Not to mention, it’s a building!
But knowing her grandson's kindness, the old woman felt satisfied in her heart.

Even she didn't know when would be the next time she would see her grandson.

"Hou'er, are you still dreaming? Dreaming about your grandmother!"

The old woman asked with concern. She remembered that her grandson said he dreamed of her every time they met and missed her very much.

"Yeah! I dream about it often."

Fu Zihou supported his grandmother and nodded, then told her that in the dream, it was still the same as before. He had been without parents since childhood. Many people around him told his grandmother not to care about him, but his grandmother felt sorry for him and knew that his cousins disliked him and regarded him as a burden, so she was reluctant to hand him over to those people and raised him alone.

In his dream, he saw his grandmother alone, asking for land to farm, and he also saw his grandmother picking up things that others didn't want day and night...

As he spoke, Fu Zihou's eyes turned red, and he tried hard to hold back his tears.

"In the dream, is grandma still the same? Has she changed? Will she be fierce to me?"

The old woman asked jokingly.

Perhaps because this time she was going to a very far place, the old woman didn't know when she would see her grandson again, so this time, she just walked to the front of the village and listened to what her grandson said and what he dreamed about her.

"Exactly the same! Grandma is never mean to Houer. She will give the delicious food to Houer even if she is hungry..."

Fu Zihou tried hard to smile and shook his head, but that short sentence with a hint of crying seemed to contain unspeakable heartache and grievance.

"Then grandma is so kind, is Hou'er very sensible?"

After the old woman finished speaking, she looked at Fu Zihou who was silent and shaking his head, and she couldn't help laughing. She didn't believe that Hou'er, who was so sensible in her heart, would be disobedient.

"and after?"

The old woman asked again.

"The grandmother no longer loves her grandson, abandons Hou'er, and goes to a place where Hou'er can't find her..."

"What nonsense! How could my grandmother not love my grandson? How could she bear to abandon him..."

(End of this chapter)