Chapter 570: Old General Su Returns to the Family (Part 1)

Chapter 570: Old General Su Returns to His Clan (Part 1)

Once the discussions were settled in a day, all betrothal arrangements were to follow the same protocol as Su Da's, keeping things perfectly balanced without slighting or overly elevating Yun Luoling. This prevented gossipmongers from claiming the Su family was showing favoritism based on status in the children's marriages. The Liu family ranked a notch below the Zhao family, and now, as expected, the Third Miss Liu was outranked by her future sister-in-law.

Though the Su family paid no heed to such idle talk, their indifference did not mean they would tolerate slander that could ruin the auspicious union of the two children.

Having returned to Yun County for less than a year, the Su family first formed marital ties with the Liu family—a century-old military household that had remained in Yun County instead of following the royal family's relocation to Langjing. Soon after, they allied with the Zhao family, the foremost clan in Yun County and now also the leading family in Langjing. Moreover, the Third Young Master Su was marrying a royal princess, albeit one stripped of her title. Still, she was of royal blood, and for a time, the Su family became the talk of Yun County, their threshold was crowded with visitors.

Not a single member of the Su family held an official post, yet their status only rose higher. Inevitably, some began dredging up matters concerning the Su family from Old General Su's ancestral home.

Now living in the same Yun County, and only because of Old General Su's benevolence had that Su family been granted shelter, yet during the Su family's joyous occasion, not a single one of Old General Su's elder brothers or younger brothers from that family came to offer congratulations. Truly, they were ungrateful wolves. The former dynasty had long fallen—what pride did these remnants of the old court have left? Were it not for their blood ties to Old General Su, they would have died without a grave to their names over a decade ago.

Such words spread quickly, and many who sought to curry favor with the Su family, seeing neither Su family react and Old General Su showing no signs of intervention, grew bolder. They not only hired professional storytellers to spread the tale daily but even went to the Su family's old residence to deliver their insults.

What was bearable has become unbearable. The long-sealed gates of the Su family's old residence swung open, and the elderly Su Eldest Master emerged, hunched over his cane, striking the ground with it—thud after thud—declaring his barely contained rage.

His white beard trembled with each breath, revealing the depth of his rage. His descendants supported him on either side, their faces alight with anger, yet none lacked the decorum to shout over their grandfather.

The Su family had stood firm through five dynasties, renowned as a family of pure integrity, literati and connoisseurs. Though now fallen from grace, their inherent dignity remained. Even in hardship, they would not disgrace their ancestors.

For over a decade in Yun County, though they occasionally encountered petty slanderers, they had treated it like being bitten by rabid dogs, preserving their family's honorable name while living quietly with their descendants.

After more than ten years, just as things were beginning to improve—with respectable families daring to befriend them despite the influence of the Great General's estate, and their grandchildren's marriages showing promise—the return of that unfilial descendant plunged the family back into disgrace.

Was he determined to ruin them?

"Su Erlang, you prodigal son! Foolish in youth, and still foolish now! Must you bring the family to ruin before you're satisfied? Our venerable parents have long passed, and as the eldest brother, I stand in their place. Since you insist on destroying this family, today I shall act on their behalf and cast you out!"

With shaking hands, he drew the Su family register from his sleeve. Right there at the gates, before the stunned eyes of onlookers who had gathered at his weak-voiced yet scathing condemnation, he opened it.

The frail old man's vision had long faded, the characters on the register now a blur. Yet page by page, his wrinkled fingers unerringly found the section bearing Old General Su's name—without turning a single extra leaf.

The register was still made of bamboo slips, as in ancient times. The bamboo slip bearing Old General Su's name had been worn so thin it would splinter at a touch.

Such thinness could only come from daily caresses, the name repeatedly re-carved with a knife whenever it faded—over and over, until the slip grew as frail as it was now.

This was how Su Eldest Master could locate it so precisely.

Finding the page, he traced it several times before hardening his heart. His aged fingers pinched the bamboo slip, ready to snap off the section bearing Old General Su's name—truly expelling him from the family.

"Eldest Su, how dare you!"

The roar was thunderous, blazing with fury. Old General Su, who had been hiding in the shadows, rushed forward in panic. The moment he heard his name still remained in the register, his expression had darkened.

Decades ago, when his parents had cast him out and severed ties, Old General Su had stubbornly turned and left without a word. But over the years, as he raised his own children and grandchildren, he gradually understood his parents' favoritism—the eldest often bore the burden of responsibility, the youngest received indulgence, and those in between were often overlooked.

Now, was he not the same? Of his three sons and two daughters, he had favored the girls, reluctant yet resigned to sending them far away to spare them the misery of royal marriages. Now, with five grandsons and one granddaughter, his heart leaned even more toward the precious granddaughter, never once raising a hand or voice against her.

The more his own heart skewed, the more Old General Su's resentment toward his parents' partiality faded. After returning to Yun County, so close to his ancestral home, perhaps it was the sentiment of old age—he had longed to see them again.

But Old General Su's bullheaded nature meant he would never bow first. If his brothers refused to step through his door, he would never yield.

Initially, when arranging the grand marriage alliance with the Liu family, he had half-hoped his ancestral family might send someone—if only for appearances.

But the stubborn old fools remained just that. Men of unyielding principle their whole lives, they had only once, a decade ago, swallowed their pride to beg for the lives of their younger generation. Since then, no matter how dire their straits or how vicious the gossip, they would never break their backs again to beg for his benevolence—to let them survive with dignity in Yun County.

"I ceased to be your brother long ago. What nonsense about the elder brother being like a father!"

Old General Su hurried over in alarm. Just as Su Eldest Master was about to snap the bamboo slip, he wrenched the whole family record from him.

Yet, due to the excessive force, half the strip with his name inscribed was still cracked—nearly severed completely.

Seeing how fragile the bamboo slip had become, worn so thin over time, Old General Su’s eyes reddened.

In the family, aside from his own parents and siblings, who else would have repeatedly taken the genealogy from the ancestral hall to pour over it day after day, mourning their memory?

A tear finally fell onto the bamboo slip.

Su Eldest Master, witnessing this, also reddened his eyes. After a moment, he had his descendants support him back inside, leaving the gate gaping open—unclosed.

He returned the same way he had come out, without inviting Old General Su to enter.