Chapter 18: Su San’s Background

At the General’s Mansion, Mu Ling had already gone early to pay respects to the old general. As soon as the old general saw his granddaughter, his mood improved greatly. “Girl, how is His Highness the Crown Prince’s health? Is he alright?”

Mu Ling smiled, “Grandfather, I’m a little miracle doctor! I handled it personally; what else do you have to worry about? His Highness…”

“Oh, how did I not know that my family had a little miracle doctor?”

“Little miracle doctor, quickly take a look at the general and see how many more years he can fight on the battlefield.”

Before she could finish speaking, two strong voices came from outside. Mu Ling recognized that they were her two uncles, Su Ming and Su Yi.

Seeing her two uncles, Mu Ling didn’t think twice and rushed into her eldest uncle’s arms. In her previous life, they had fought to protect the country but ended up dying so tragically. In this life, she must protect them well.

“Eldest uncle, little uncle, have you thought about Ling’er? I’ve missed you both so much!”

“Haha, about to get married, and you still act like a child? But I like it! Ling’er, how is it? Is the Crown Prince alright?”

“Mm, mm, mm,” Mu Ling nodded vigorously in her eldest uncle’s embrace. “The Crown Prince is very well. You’ll see him at tomorrow’s palace banquet.”

Her eldest uncle had the best relationship with Jun Mohan. They had been on the battlefield together, fighting side by side, and the Crown Prince had even saved her eldest uncle’s life on the battlefield. They had a bond that was deeper than blood.

“What? Little girl, only thinking of your eldest uncle and not your little uncle?” Su Yi pretended to be angry.

“How could it be?” Mu Ling threw herself into Su Yi’s arms and replied cheerfully, “I think of both eldest uncle and little uncle. I miss you both very, very much!”

“Ha ha ha!” The old general looked at the scene in front of him, his heart filled with joy.

“Xiao He, let them all go out. You too, guard the door; don’t let anyone in. I have something to discuss with grandfather and the two uncles.”

Once everyone had left, her eldest uncle, Su Ming, anxiously asked, “What’s wrong? Did someone from the Marquis Mansion bully you again? Tell your eldest uncle what’s going on!”

“Eldest uncle, no one has bullied me. I won’t let anyone manipulate me in the future. Now I want to ask you a very important question. Grandfather, two uncles, you must tell me the truth, okay?”

The old general rubbed the little girl’s head and smiled, “What question? Why are you asking so seriously? Alright, we promise to answer truthfully.”

“Grandfather, uncles, hypothetically speaking, what if my mother… no, now I should call her the Marquis Madam. If one day she commits an unforgivable crime punishable by death, could you accept it?”

“Little girl, do you know something? It’s alright; just tell us the truth. Did your mother… the Marquis Madam get into trouble again?”

Mu Ling shook her head, “Not yet. I just want to know, if that day really comes, could you accept it?”

Neither of her uncles answered, but the old general sighed heavily, saying helplessly, “If that day really comes, I hope His Majesty can spare her life out of consideration for our family’s loyalty and righteousness. Whether imprisoned or exiled, as long as she can live, that’s enough.”

Grandfather, you want to spare her life, but do you know? In my previous life, I watched as the General’s Mansion was exterminated by the Mu family!

“Girl, there’s something we’ve always kept from you. In fact, your mother is not my biological daughter; she is… the child of my savior. Saving her life is like repaying her father’s life-saving grace.”

So that’s how it is. Mu Ling had always suspected that her grandfather and uncles were so kind and smart; how could they have such a foolish daughter like Su San?! It turns out she was not even a child of the Su family.

In that previous life, did Su San already know that she was not a Su family child? If she did know, then her coldness towards grandfather’s family could be explained.

“I understand now; I will try my best to protect her life. Grandfather, what about her mother? Is she still alive?”

The old general thought for a moment, hesitating on whether to tell Mu Ling. The truth was too cruel; would this girl be able to accept it? “Grandfather, just tell me the truth. No matter what the truth is, I don’t care.”

The old general finally spoke, “Her mother is still alive. Since her father died in battle, she abandoned her daughter, who was not yet a year old, to become a concubine for a general of Western Liang. She has never returned in all these years.”

Western Liang? Mu Ling suddenly had a bad premonition. After all, the poison that His Highness the Crown Prince was afflicted with was the secret poison of Western Liang! Could this matter be related to Su San? If it was related, then what was Su San doing?

Mu Ling felt her heart racing. She felt like she was overlooking something, but… what exactly was it?

“Grandfather, if she collaborates with Western Liang to commit treason, would you still want to spare her life?”

The old general was taken aback by his granddaughter’s words. “Girl, what do you mean? How could she betray the country? How would she dare?!”

“Grandfather, do you know? His Highness the Crown Prince was poisoned with the secret poison of Western Liang. I’ve looked into it; although this poison comes from Western Liang, it is only the secret poison of the Western Liang royal family, not something an ordinary Western Liang person can possess.”

The old general clenched his fists without a hint of hesitation, firmly telling Mu Ling, “Girl, if that’s really the case, then she must die! But child, you must investigate this matter clearly, and be careful not to wrong her.”

“Grandfather, you can rest assured on this point; I also hope it’s not true. After all, she is still my blood mother. If she really colludes with the enemy, I wouldn’t know how to face Jun Mohan.”

The old general waved his hand dismissively, “If it really comes to that, it’s fine. I know His Majesty well, and I know the Crown Prince as well; they won’t wrongfully kill innocents. Especially towards you, I can see that they both like you very much; they would never blame you because of your mother’s actions.”

Mu Ling believed this to some extent, but if that day really came, she would still struggle with the emotional turmoil.

Mu Ling sniffed and changed the topic; there was no point in discussing this now. She would wait until she saw Jun Mohan to talk. Rather than torturing herself here, it would be better to speak honestly with Jun Mohan.

“Alright, Grandfather, let’s not talk about this for now. I want to go shopping; do you need anything?”

The old general, hearing his granddaughter wanted to go shopping, turned around and took out a stack of silver notes from a box, smiling as he handed them to Mu Ling. “Girl, if you want to go shopping, just go. Take these silver notes; buy whatever you want. By the way, for tomorrow’s palace banquet, pick a few nice clothes for yourself. We’ll go to the palace banquet looking beautiful. Now that His Highness the Crown Prince is better, I want to see who dares to speak ill of him!”

Mu Ling thought about the family assets of the Marquis Mansion in her space. She had roughly seen that there were at least several million taels in silver notes and cash.

“Grandfather, you keep these silver notes for yourself. I have plenty,” Mu Ling said casually, pretending to rummage in her purse, while in reality, she was using her mind to take out a few ten-thousand-tael silver notes from her space.

“See? Here are a few ten-thousand taels, enough for me to buy clothes.” Mu Ling waved the notes in front of the old general.

The old general reluctantly agreed, “Alright, but if it’s not enough, just tell me. Don’t hold back; even if we’re not as rich as a nation, supporting you is more than enough.”

Mu Ling thought of her dream of creating a business empire. If she could get her two uncles to help her, that would be great. “Eldest uncle, little uncle, are you going to return to the frontier? Can you stay in the capital instead?”

“We weren’t planning to return to the frontier at all. His Majesty has assigned us to take over the garrison in the capital. Why? Do you need us to do something?”

Mu Ling happily grasped Su Yi’s hand, “Little uncle, once you go to the garrison, will you still be able to do business?”

“What’s not to be able to do? Our Dayan policies are quite lenient. As long as you conduct business properly, don’t bully others, and don’t neglect your duties, everything will be fine. Why? Do you want to do business? Do you want us to help?”

Mu Ling gave a thumbs up, “Uncle is really smart! Once we get through this busy period, we’ll start taking action. I want to be the richest person in Dayan! I want to establish my own business empire!”

Seeing the little girl so ambitious made the old general laugh, “Little girl, you are the future Crown Princess; perhaps in the future… by then, the entire Dayan will be yours. Why establish a business empire?”

Mu Ling shook her head, “No, I don’t want to rely on anyone. I want to become strong on my own. Only by becoming strong can I protect those I want to protect.”

“Ha ha, little girl, you have ambition. Your uncle supports you. I’ll help you become strong, and then I’ll rely on you for protection.”

In Mu Ling’s heart, her two uncles were the people she wanted to protect, but for now, she still needed to find wives for her uncles…