With a mere snap of the fingers, Su Caicai was now old enough to recite several poems with Su Lingchuan.
“Uwuwuwu…” This was Jiang Fanfan, who was unwilling, watching Su Caicai to go to school with Su Lingchuan while laying on Grandma"s shoulder.
Madam Su patted his fleshy b.u.t.t and coaxed, “Fanfan be good. Big brother has gone to study and will be back in the evening.”
Madam Su had totally lost her initial guarded stance and slight displeased with Jiang Fanfan. Now she held him in her arms like a baby egg all day long. Even if she was dying, she was willing to hold him all the time.
Jiang Fanfan looked at grandma tearfully with his finger sucked in his mouth. He had tried in vain to make Grandma back him up to let his big brother stay to play with him.
Pa!
This was done by Su Qingbai. He raised his hand and slapped Jiang Fanfan on his perky b.u.t.t. These two brothers were really sick. They both liked to eat their fingers. “Take your finger out of your mouth.”
When Su Qingbai was a teenager, he was chased away by his dad all year round with a stick. Therefore, Su Qingbai had different resolution; if he had a child, he would never beat his child. But when he really did, he found that sometimes he couldn"t help beating his child. Su Qingbai gradually began to think that it was quite reasonable to say that filial piety was born under the stick.
“Pa!” Madam Su slapped Su Qingbai"s hand and stared at him, “the child is still so young, can"t you speak nicely?”
Su Qingbai felt helpless, internally said: You listen to them, but do they listen to you? Do they remember it in their heart?
He had said it many times, it was totally useless.
Could not afford to offend the small one, Su Qingbai ran to see the big one.
At this moment, Su Caicai was going to school with Su Lingchuan, while being held by Su Lingchuan with his head faced up, his watermelon belly rose and fell regularly, and even his face appeared not yet woken up.
Su Qingbai walked ahead two steps and saw that Su Caicai"s head suddenly slanted down while saliva flew along his chubby cheek and fell on Su Lingchuan"s clothes.
This person was indeed an Immortal. His little brother howled and shouted for him for a long time, but he didn"t even open his eyes.
Su Lingchuan saw Su Qingbai coming over here and roughly guessed that the baby grandson in his arms was going to be taught a lesson again, so he turned to Madam Su and said, “Make a light food for lunch today.” After he saw Madam Su"s agreeing, he hastily added, “I"m going.”
Su Qingbai was left standing in the hall with eyes wide opened.
“Sigh――” His sons; one was busy, one went away, and no one by his side. Su Qingbai also could not hold their heart, so he sat down to drink tea.
It had more than a year since Jiang Mao left. Caicai was almost four years old, and Fanfan was one and a half years old.
Su Qingbai frowned. Since Jiang Mao left, Jiang Mao had written to him almost every month. There was no mention of the war in the letter. There was good and bad about it. Sometimes it made him happy, and sometimes it made him worried. Fortunately, although he was in constant trouble, the general situation was still developing in a good direction.
Du Cheng didn"t have a good reputation among the people. People only think of him the former Prime Minister. Now that he colluded with the enemy to revolt, there were not many people who respond to him. His main support came from the courtiers who had interests with him, as well as the army of the enemy.
The perfectly justified Jiang Mao, under the banner of fighting for counter-insurgency, plus the good generals of elite soldiers, against Du Cheng"s enemy troops―which came from a distant land and couldn"t be acclimatized― and mobs―which gathered together for benefits― couldn"t be too exaggerated to compare that it was like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter.
A month ago, Su Qingbai received a letter saying that most of the enemy"s troops had lost, and that few leftovers had been forced to return to their country. Du Cheng"s power had gone.
In fact, Du Cheng was very minor. If it was two years ago, one did not necessarily have to spend such a long time on him. However, in the past two years, Du Cheng had eliminated dissidents. Many pillars of the country had been killed and demoted by him. The number of the Imperial Court"s capable generals had been greatly reduced. This was also the reason why no one dared to fight for counterinsurgency before and finally without any other choice, made Jiang Mao―who was used to business and in fact had slight knowledge about war―to go.
According to the news from all walks of life, Jiang Mao should be coming back soon. But now, out of the ordinary, there was no news of Jiang Mao coming back, and even the one letter per month, stopped coming.
Su Qingbai couldn"t help worrying.
… …
“This is peach blossom.” Su Qingbai was sitting at the door of the tavern, holding two fat b.u.t.ts on the left and right respectively sitting on his knees, pointing to the delicate peach blossom full on the trees.
“Peaches.” Su Caicai smelled the scent and drool flowed on his fat face. He had eaten the peaches on the tree last year, and he never forgot them.
“Some?” Jiang Fanfan only grasped the last word in Su Qingbai"s mouth. He didn"t understand it very well and confusedly asked his big brother.
Su Qingbai looked at these two things in his arms and started to open his mouth to explain but suddenly, he saw the waiter inside running out to him and said, “Boss, someone is making trouble.”
Su Qingbai had to put down the two in his arms and went inside to have a look.
Su Qingbai came in and saw that it was not a big deal. It was a guest who got drunk and made a scene in the tavern.
After he dealt with it and went out again, he found that the two brothers had not been sitting in the same place.
Not far away, Su Caicai had found someone to move a stool. He stepped on the stool to pick flowers. Under the stool, Jiang Fanfan was whirling around the stool.
The stool was not very stable. Fortunately, there was a manservant holding it down.
So Su Qingbai didn"t take care about them. He sat and watched as Su Caicai picked several flowers and inserted them into Jiang Fanfan"s hair. It was all over the place, but Caicai still thought his skill was so good. He pulled his little brother around to show off.
When the peach blossom was over, only then the news of Jiang Mao came. It was not from Jiang Mao"s letter to him, but from the people in the Imperial Court.
The news was very bad. It said that Jiang Mao was attacked by an a.s.sa.s.sin on the way back to return in triumph.
The people who were going and leaving in Su Qingbai"s tavern, almost immediately heard the news.
At first hearing the news, his pulse was almost sluggish, then he covered his chest and sat down slowly holding the stool.
But… It"s not the first time Jiang Mao had been attacked by an a.s.sa.s.sin. Everyone would be fine. He had lived with Jiang Mao for several years and had two children with him.
There were so many people protecting Jiang Mao this time that nothing could happen to him.
Su Qingbai looked up and asked the pageboy who came with the news, “How is Yue w.a.n.g now? He is not hurt, right?”