Chapter 513: 513. Return to the starting point

Clear skies and gentle breezes.

Halfway through, Ji Xiaoshu voluntarily got off Gu Ling’s back and let Gu Ling carry a tired Gu Xiaonuan.

“Squirrel!” Ji Xiaoshu saw a fluffy ball in the woods and ran over with bright eyes.

However, the squirrel quickly climbed up a tree, shaking its long tail and disappeared.

Qianshan Academy happened to be on holiday today, and there were not many people on the mountain path.

At the gate of the academy, the gatekeeper recognized Su Liang at a glance—he didn’t recognize Gu Ling because when Gu Ling came to the academy, he was still using Ning Jing’s identity and appearance. Su Liang saved many people from the academy, leaving a deep impression on everyone.

“No need for formalities.” Su Liang stopped the gatekeeper from kneeling on the ground, “We’re just passing by to take a look.”

The old man nodded repeatedly. After Gu Ling and Su Liang entered with the children, he went to inform the academy head.

They walked through the academy to the back mountain, where Su Liang laid out a picnic blanket for the children to sit on and took out water, snacks, and fruits for them to eat.

Su Liang saw the three trees planted on the back mountain by Lin Boyan, Lin Bojun, and the real Ning Jing. They had grown quite a bit since the last time she saw them. Lin Shuzhi often said that he wanted to go back to his hometown, but now he had grandchildren and both his sons had become important figures with busy official duties, it was not easy to return.

After playing on the back mountain for a while, they decided to leave, and the head of the academy came over.

Su Liang exchanged a few words with him, asked about the current situation of the academy, and then said farewell to leave.

On the way down the mountain, Gu Xiaonuan was tired and fell asleep in Gu Ling’s arms. Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu were full of energy, running around and playing. Halfway down the mountain, they really encountered monkeys.

Seeing Ji Xiaoshu about to rush over, Su Liang quickly stopped him. She was afraid the monkeys in the wild might be aggressive and hurt him.

Ji Xiaoshu threw the remaining fruits to the monkey from a distance. The little monkey jumped agilely off the tree, picked up the fruit, and quickly returned to its perch, sitting down to nibble on the fruit.

Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu both looked on in amazement.

“Mother, the little monkey has some human-like expressions,” Zhengzheng said.

Su Liang smiled and continued downhill, telling the children about human origins as they walked.

When they returned to their home in the city, Gu Xiaonuan woke up and went to play in the garden with his two older brothers.

Gu Ling and Su Liang bought groceries on the way home and began preparing dinner. They planned to stay for one day before continuing their journey.

Leaving Pingbei City and heading north, they passed through various places. Su Liang told the children about the times she and Gu Ling had visited each place and what they had done there.

As they neared Bei’an County after more than ten days since leaving the capital, the happiest ones were the children, who enjoyed a different lifestyle while traveling than staying at home in the capital. Gu Ling and Su Liang were also revisiting the roads they had once walked. They had originally traveled from Bei’an County to the capital to achieve certain goals, and despite having returned some time, this time felt different.

“Mother, the temple!” Zhengzheng pulled back the carriage curtain, excitedly pointing out the dilapidated temple not far ahead for Su Liang to see.

Ji Xiaoshu leaned in, “What temple? Is it the one where Master and Mother saved Eldest Brother with Uncle Cheng Yun’s help?”

“Yes!” Zhengzheng nodded seriously, “It’s right here! It was raining hard that day! I was kidnapped by bad people, and Master, Mother, and Uncle Cheng Yun happened to pass by and saved me!”

The carriage stopped, and Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu ran into the broken temple one after the other.

Su Liang and Gu Ling led Gu Xiaonuan, lifting her to cross the threshold and go in. It had been several years, and this place was still here and unrenovated, even more dilapidated than before, with spider webs all over the roof eaves.

Zhengzheng was telling Ji Xiaoshu about the first time he met Gu Ling and Su Liang, “At that time, Master was still Uncle Ning!”

Ji Xiaoshu looked at Gu Ling, “Master, when will you change back to Uncle Ning for me to see? I haven’t seen it before!”

Gu Ling shook his head, “Then you have no chance.” He had used Ning Jing’s human skin mask back then, which was later buried in the Ning family’s cemetery.

After walking around the broken temple, before leaving, Zhengzheng told Su Liang and Gu Ling that he wanted to hire someone to renovate the place so that people could take shelter from the rain and wind.

Su Liang smiled, “Okay. We’ll go home first, and once we’ve made a plan, we can find a craftsman.”

Before sunset, the carriage slowly drove into Bei’an County town.

Su Liang got out of the carriage, looking at the familiar small house, where the pomegranate trees were blooming beautifully, with oily green leaves and bright red pomegranate flowers hanging from the branches, making for another bountiful year.

Su Liang took the children inside first, while Gu Ling drove the carriage to buy osmanthus cakes from a tea house in Bei’an County town, which they hadn’t eaten for a long time.

On the way, Gu Ling saw Hu Er from a distance, carrying a child on his shoulder and walking into a restaurant with a beaming smile, probably his grandson.

They would probably see him again later, so Gu Ling didn’t greet him. He no longer needed to disguise himself, and his beauty attracted attention wherever he went. However, most people had only heard of his reputation and had not seen him in person. He acted low-key, and after buying the freshly baked osmanthus cakes, he left.

At night, Gu Ling and Su Liang sat under the pomegranate tree with the children and watched the moon.

Ji Xiaoshu asked about Duanmu Chen, “I heard that Emperor Uncle used to be a county magistrate here? Did Master and Mistress meet him then? Tell us, how did they meet?”

Su Liang lightly chuckled, “That’s a long story.”

“I’m not sleepy, I love to listen to long stories!” Ji Xiaoshu said with a grin.

The night breeze was cool, and Su Liang told the children about her encounter with Duanmu Chen in Bei’an County. At first, it was not pleasant, but Duanmu Chen was very shrewd and always knew what choice was more advantageous for him, which led to their pleasant cooperation later on and continued until he became the only emperor in the world.

“Emperor Uncle is really lucky!” Ji Xiaoshu exclaimed after listening.

Zhengzheng nodded, “I asked Emperor Uncle what his secret to success was, and he said that keeping a clear head is important, but mainly he relied on good luck.”

Since leaving the capital, they had been telling stories to the children every day. Today’s story was over, and it was already late. Gu Ling took the two disciples, and Su Liang took Gu Xiaonuan to wash up and then go to bed.

The next day, when Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. They got dressed and went outside, and saw Gu Ling holding a broom, sweeping up the fallen leaves in the courtyard. There had been a lot of weeds in the yard when they returned yesterday, but it was already late, so they hadn’t tidied them up. Now, the weeds had also been cleaned up.

Su Liang stood under the pomegranate tree, supporting Gu Xiaonuan, who was picking flowers from the tree.

“You’re awake. Let’s have breakfast.” Su Liang said, taking Gu Xiaonuan down from the tree. She held a bright red pomegranate flower in her hand and inserted it into Su Liang’s hair, “Mom looks so beautiful!”

“Who looks better, your dad or me?” Su Liang asked with a smile.

“Big Brother, Second Brother, what do you think?” Gu Xiaonuan cleverly passed the question on to Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu.

Zhengzheng immediately ran to help Gu Ling sweep the fallen leaves. “Master, let me help you!”

Ji Xiaoshu calmly said, “Of course it’s Master’s wife! Is there even any need to ask?”

After breakfast, they left their home in the county town and returned to Feiyan Town.

Nowadays, Feiyan Town is much busier than before, with more shops on the streets. It used to be a remote place not far from the border, but now that the world is unified, there are more merchants from the north and south coming to do business. The richest merchant in Bei’an County today is Su Liang’s old acquaintance, Hu Er, who has made a lot of money from his past experiences and has been generous with his wealth to do good deeds locally, becoming the well-known great philanthropist Hu Er.

As they passed by the Luoyan Restaurant, Su Liang just lifted the carriage curtain to take a peek. They were going straight back to the village and wouldn’t stay in town. The restaurant’s business was excellent, and the area had doubled in size. Su Liang also saw the same manager as before.

Leaving the town and heading to the village, Su Liang looked at the scenery passing by outside and felt very familiar, stirring memories of the past. She and Gu Ling used to go to the market together, selling pears and vegetable seeds in town, and buying medicinal materials…

At the entrance of the village, there were always a few elders chatting under the old tree, and some playing chess. Seeing a carriage enter the village, which wasn’t too surprising anymore, but when they saw Su Liang, everyone got excited. However, due to Su Liang’s status, they didn’t dare to crowd around.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Su Liang was the lucky star for the Su Family Village. In the past few years, the village had built roads, several bridges, and now the children in the village had a school to attend. Some children who had studied well were already attending school in the county. The existence of the school had its rules, forming a restraint on the villagers. To avoid affecting children’s chances of attending school, the village’s atmosphere was very upright, which benefited from the good management of Lei Zheng and Su Bai.

Su Liang smiled and greeted everyone, still recognizing who they were.

The carriage continued forward, passing by Su Daqiang’s old house. Su Liang thought of the old pear tree and couldn’t help but feel some regret.

After crossing the bridge, Su Liang heard a familiar voice, “Is it Little Liang returning home?”

Madam Bai excitedly approached, carrying a basket.

Gu Ling stopped the carriage, and Su Liang got out with the children. Madam Bai hurried up, looked at her, and said, “You haven’t changed at all! No, you’re even prettier than before!”

Su Liang smiled brightly, “Madam Bai, you look much younger and more energetic than the last time I saw you.”

It was true. The Bai Family’s life had improved, and Madam Bai had less worry about her children and grandchildren. Her spirit was much better than when Su Liang first met her, and she was slightly plumper and had sure-footed strides.

Hearing this, Madam Bai laughed with her mouth wide open, “You flatter me!” She then saw Gu Xiaonuan and exclaimed, “Wow, who is this beautiful child?”

“This is my daughter with Gu Ling.” Su Liang brought Gu Xiaonuan closer to her.

Madam Bai was extremely delighted, “She’s even prettier than the little immortals in the New Year’s paintings!”

Ji Xiaoshu cupped his face and asked, “Do we not look good?”

Madam Bai hurriedly complimented the children, and Ji Xiaoshu, being easygoing, asked about Bai Xiaohu and Zhuzi even though it was his first time visiting the Su Family Village.

“They’ve gone to school.” Madam Bai said happily, “Come on in, let’s rest and eat first! I’ll bring you something to eat!”

Before Su Liang could say anything, Madam Bai quickly walked away with her basket.

The house surroundings were clean, with no weeds, probably because the Bai Family had been helping to tidy up.

As they opened the door, Ji Xiaoshu curiously ran inside, “Is this Master and his wife’s first home?”

The courtyard was spacious, and the pine trees planted in the winter that year had grown taller.

Gu Ling drove the carriage to the backyard. The backyard was also free of weeds, and the vegetable plot was full of crops. The long pumpkin vines climbed to the roof, the purple eggplants looked ripe, the green beans were at their perfect juicy stage, and several gourd plants had different sized green fruits hanging from the eaves, looking pretty.

Before leaving last time, Su Liang gave Madam Bai a key to their home, so they must have been looking after the place.

Su Liang took the children into the room, which was also spotlessly clean, with the bedding neatly stored in the cupboard.

“Did Master’s wife live in this room? And Master lived next door?” Ji Xiaoshu asked.

Su Liang nodded, “Yes, that’s how it was at the beginning.”

“Then let Master live next door, and we’ll stay with Master’s wife!” Ji Xiaoshu said with a grin.

The next moment, Gu Ling entered the room, picked up Ji Xiaoshu, and threw him outside, “I’m thirsty, go boil some water.”

Zhengzheng came out and pulled Ji Xiaoshu towards the kitchen, “Let’s go boil the water. I’m thirsty too.”

So, when Madam Bai brought a plate of steamed buns, she saw Gu Ling and Su Liang making beds in the room, and the two children were making a fire in the kitchen.

“Wash your hands and eat some buns.” Madam Bai lovingly called Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu.

The buns were made this morning and had just been reheated — they looked plump and delicious. The children were hungry, so Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu washed their hands, each took a bun and politely thanked Madam Bai.

“This is so delicious!” Ji Xiaoshu praised.

Madam Bai laughed with delight, “If you like it, eat more.”

“I’ve always wanted to eat Madam Bai’s steamed buns.” Su Liang said, and then tore a piece for Gu Xiaonuan.

Madam Bai asked what they wanted to eat, and she would cook it for them. They needed to rest properly after their journey.

“Then let’s come over for dinner tonight.” Su Liang smiled.

Madam Bai nodded repeatedly, “Alright, alright! In that case, I’ll go prepare. When Xiaohu and Zhuzi finish school, I’ll have them come over to play. They’ve been missing you and couldn’t wait to see you!”

After Madam Bai left, the children slept in the room. Su Liang and Gu Ling went to the backyard to check on their vegetable plot, which was growing very well.

“Let’s have pumpkin egg-filled dumplings tomorrow.” Su Liang said, selecting a tender pumpkin.

“And I’ll make crisp eggplants and steamed vegetables. I really miss the days when we lived in this little courtyard together.” Gu Ling said.

“Yes, let’s go up the mountain to watch the sunrise tomorrow if the weather is good.” Su Liang said.

“Let’s take the children to hunt wild boars and pick mushrooms.” Gu Ling suggested.

“We should plant another pear tree at home,” Su Liang said with a faint smile, “I suddenly remembered the time when you sneaked into Su Daqiang’s place to steal pears. The pears on that tree were really delicious.”

“Alright, I’ll go find one.” Gu Ling said, holding Su Liang’s hand, the two of them exchanged a smile.