In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1225 - 1137: News from the Valley of Ghosts

Chapter 1225: Chapter 1137: News from the Valley of Ghosts

"In those years when Great Zhou was founded, the Su Family were also among the founding heroes. Afterwards, a lot of things happened, and our ancestor from the Su Family got involved in a case concerning the ’Valley of Ghosts,’ resulting in him being dismissed and exiled to settle in Luoshan Village."

This statement made the academician and several people present furrow their brows in deep contemplation.

The history of the founding of Great Zhou was somewhat known to the people present, but as for the matters pertaining to the Su Family... Su Ke rummaged through his memory and suddenly remembered someone.

"Oh..."

Academician Lei suddenly clapped his hands, "Are you talking about Lord Su Hongkang, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Works serving beside the emperor during the founding of Great Zhou? However, I remember that he passed away due to a sudden illness..."

He paused halfway through his words.

Seeing the knowing look on Patriarch Su’s face, Academician Lei let out a violent cough and immediately picked up his tea cup, gulping down a big mouthful of refreshment.

Only after the liquid reached his mouth did he feel the scalding temperature and hurriedly exhaled to cool it down, setting down the tea cup.

The others exchanged uneasy glances, sharing a similar discomfort.

Su Ke never imagined that his ancestors, who had concealed themselves and laid low in the small Luoshan Village for so many years, had such an unknown and hidden secret.

"Back then, families such as the Qin Family, Lui Family, Xue Family, and Zhou Family advanced and retreated together with the Su Family. After hundreds of years of proliferation, today’s Su Family had fallen far from the ancestral glory. It’s really quite tragic and lamentable!"

Yet, Patriarch Su commented without a care, pouring a refill for Academician Lei as he chuckled, "Don’t worry, academician. Times have changed! The present is not like the past."

Academician Lei was slightly bewildered, "What do you mean by that?"

"Has your excellency heard that His Majesty intends to build an Imperial Mausoleum for the previous emperor?" Patriarch Su asked with a mysterious smile.

"This... I indeed heard of His Majesty’s filial intentions."

Academician Lei saluted in the direction of the Hall of Golden Chariots, "Building an Imperial Mausoleum isn’t a minor affair; it requires vast resources. I fear although it’s a good deed, it might face many difficulties."

His Majesty’s desire to establish an Imperial Mausoleum was considered a great act of piety, and as a subject, one could only commend it.

However, building mausoleums was costly and laborious, not a task of just a day or two. His Majesty had raised the matter in court, but the national treasury was depleted, and eventually, the matter was dropped. When the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination required a significant amount of silver, the funds originally intended for the mausoleum were redirected and completely utilized. After that, the matter was not brought up again.

But now that His Majesty had not mentioned this, why would Lord Su, brother-in-law of the Emperor, bring it up to him? Could there be a deeper meaning?

Academician Lei suddenly thought of this and became even more restless.

"Let’s not talk about whether this can be accomplished or not."

Patriarch Su’s hand tapped lightly on a small table, "Back then, the Su Family left Shengjing, and the insider story, buried under hundreds of years, has been sealed beneath the earth."

"However, right now His Majesty wants to build an Imperial Mausoleum mainly to inter his birth mother, who was also the young master of the Ghost Valley, with the previous emperor. This too was one of the late emperor’s dying wishes."

"For years, my Su Family has worked diligently without seeking fame, living quietly in a corner of the world, men farming and women weaving. Now that His Majesty has unified the land under heaven, my Su Family can be considered to have also come through. It is heaven that has not disappointed us Su Family!"

Patriarch Su said, standing up and bowing towards the sky.

There was much to contemplate hidden within these words!

Academician Lei furrowed his brows in deep thought.

Ever since His Majesty ascended the throne, whispers had circulated that His Majesty’s mother was a minor leader of the Valley of Ghosts, but such rumors had never been confirmed.

How was the Su Family, residing in Luoshan Village, related to the minor leader of the Valley of Ghosts?

Why did Patriarch Su choose this particular moment to bring up these topics?

Why did he also mention that the Su Family had finally come into their own and spoke of heaven not letting the Su Family down?

Academician Lei and Patriarch Su exchanged a look and saw a deeper meaning in each other’s eyes. He felt a chill down his spine as if he had unwittingly stumbled upon secrets that he wasn’t supposed to know?

With these thoughts, he couldn’t sit still any longer.

He had even forgotten the main purpose of his visit and, after sitting for a moment, he decided to take his leave.

Patriarch Su walked him to the main gate.

As Academician Lei was leaving, Patriarch Su grabbed his hand, squinting his wrinkled, smiling face, "Academician Lei is also a wise man. Currently, His Majesty’s filial piety in building mausoleums for the late emperor is both inevitable and commendable. Since it is an act of filial piety, it naturally should be encouraged and widely praised. As Academician Lei teaches many students at Yingtian Academy, which is esteemed as the leading academy in Our Great Zhou, such actions of filial piety surely must be endorsed and supported."

Academician Lei’s mouth twitched suspiciously as he clasped his hands and left.

On the way back, he pondered this matter over and over and sighed repeatedly. He didn’t expect that despite his claims of not being involved in Court affairs, he had unwittingly been drawn into such a maelstrom. Why had Lord Su singled him out?

He had been considering marrying his daughter to Su Ke, but now it seemed there was more to the Su Family than met the eye! It would be prudent to hold off on this matter for now, to prevent the possible risk of affecting not only the Lei Family but also the entire Yingtian Academy.

When he returned to Yingtian Academy, he arranged the matters as Patriarch Su had suggested.

Soon, His Majesty’s filial action of building a mausoleum for the late emperor began to quietly spread among the people.

This act of building mausoleums, initially resisted by speech officials at the Court, miraculously found a turning point.

But these were matters of later concern.

As soon as Academician Lei left, Su Ke immediately became unsettled.

"Grandfather, what exactly was the matter you spoke of just now?"

Even Su Lao Si, usually calm, looked at him seriously, demanding an explanation.

"What matter? It’s just that matter."

Patriarch Su remained composed: "It’s not as grave as you think, calm down."

"Dad, this isn’t about being calm or not, what exactly is going on? Could you clarify?"

Su Lao Si was the first to speak, "You mentioned earlier that our Su Family were founding heroes of Great Zhou? But how did we end up in Luoshan Village, with generations living there? What does this have to do with His Majesty? The intricacies are confusing your son."

"What happened is just that."

Seeing everyone attentive and ready to listen, Patriarch Su sighed, dismissed the servants around, and then began to narrate the history of the Su Family to his children and grandchildren: "You have seen the family genealogy and might have noticed that our Su Family record starts from Luoshan Village. In reality, there’s another genealogy before that. It details the origin of the Su Family and some hidden secrets unknown to others."