Su Yu followed Steward He back to Baiyu Academy and came to Old Lady Su's bed.

There were several people in the house. Su Zixuan sat on the edge of the bed, holding the old lady's hand, comforting his father.

Su Yu's eldest sister Su Mei stood by the bed, leaning forward slightly, with tears in her eyes. Su Mei's husband, Chen Ang, held his hands in front of him with a sad look on his face.

Su Lan, who had beautiful short hair, put away her usual liveliness and became quiet and dignified.

Su Yu knelt down in front of his grandfather's bed and took his grandfather's thin hand from his mother's hand: "Grandpa, I'm Xiaoyu." ”

Old Lady Su opened his eyes, looked at his most distressed grandson, and said with subtle strength: "Xiaoyu, grandpa is leaving, and the academy will depend on you in the future." Do you remember what Grandpa said? ”

"Don't worry, grandpa, I remember everything you said. A man must cultivate himself, rule the country and level the world. Education-oriented, integrity and improvement. ”

Su Yu repeated the words that his grandfather often taught him, word by word.

"Okay, good ......" Old Lady Su's breath was weak, like a filament.

"You go back and rest, Xiao Yu and I are guarding here." Su Zixuan stood up and pulled Su Yu up, "If there is any situation, Lao He will inform everyone at any time." Lan'er has been running around for many days, eat something and rest early. ”

Everyone agreed, and just as they were about to disperse, the old lady suddenly spoke again: "Zixuan, Zixuan." ”

"Father, I'm here." Su Zixuan held the old lady's hand again, "What else do you have to explain, just say it." ”

"Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu ......" the old lady pointed at Su Yu.

"It's here." Su Zixuan said.

"Grandpa, grandpa."

"Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu......" The old lady took a few breaths.

"What's wrong with Xiaoyu? What do you want him to do? Su Zixuan shook his father's hand.

"A small encounter, engaged. I'm going to look at ......," the old lady was thinking about her grandson's marriage.

"Got it, father, don't worry. Little meets age, we will arrange it for him. ”

"Engagement......" The old lady closed her eyes again.

"Father, father." Su Zixuan hurriedly shouted twice, for fear that the old man would leave.

When Old Lady Su breathed, there was a slight sound in her throat and eyes.

"Father, I will get engaged to Xiaoyu as soon as possible." Su Zixuan promised in her mouth, in fact, she didn't want to do what her father said, just to appease the old man's heart.

Su Yu looked at his mother's stern gaze and said in his heart, I'm not in a hurry to get engaged.

Of course, Su Zixuan understood his father's thoughts. The Su family has been inherited in Evian Town for hundreds of years, and they have not been prosperous, and their lives have hung by a thread several times, and they almost broke the incense.

Old lady Su only has Zixuan's daughter, and there is no way, so she recruited a son-in-law to join her early.

Su Zixuan has a strong personality and does things in a hurry, and her husband Qiu Yuanren is loyal and honest, and he is a responsible reader. When Su Yu was three years old, Qiu Yuanren died of typhoid fever.

Su Zixuan did not marry again.

Su Yu's generation, the Su family's three daughters and one son, are still single, and the old lady is worried that this fragile bloodline has three long and two short, so he urged Su Yu to get engaged.

Now Su Yu is fourteen years old, and he has reached the age of talking about marriage. Therefore, when Old Lady Su made this request, Su Zixuan agreed without much thought.

For several days in a row, Mrs. Su was awake for a while and fainted for a while. When you wake up, it's called "Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu" and "Engagement, Engagement".

Su Zixuan understood that the old man had something in his heart and couldn't swallow that breath. There is little chance that his body will get better, and the reason why he is still maintaining it is because he is worried about his grandson's marriage.

This made Su Zixuan have to seriously consider Su Yu's marriage. The old man can't drag it out like this.

However, she thought again, if Xiaoyu's marriage is decided, and the old lady is concerned, will anyone have to leave? If that's the case, it's better to drag it out like this, and he can live a few more days.

However, as soon as she saw the painful state of the old man who could not survive and die, she felt that letting her father die peacefully might be the greatest filial piety to him.

Su Yu suffered at home for a few days, and he was always in a state of distress. After the old lady's condition stabilized, he couldn't wait to find the troupe.

However, people go to the empty building. The troupe has long since transitioned. Where it went, no one knows.

Su Yu thought of Shi Xiaoshu, he must know the whereabouts of the troupe. So, he inquired about the Shi family from Shi Dongliang and came to the foot of the mountain outside the town alone.

……

When Su Yu found Shi Xiaoshu, Xiaoshu was hanging bacon on a big tree at home.

"Little tree, little tree."

Shi Xiaoshu didn't seem to hear anything, and only cared about his own work.

"Shi Shaoxia, Shi Shaoxia." Su Yu stood under the tree and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The little tree still doesn't respond. It wasn't until he hung up a few pieces of bacon in his hand that he slid down from the tree.

He ignored Su Yu, turned around and picked up the sickle under the eaves, put the basket on his back, and walked out of the courtyard.

Su Yu grabbed Xiaoshu's arm: "Brother Xiaoshu, I was wrong last time, I shouldn't say goodbye, I apologize to you." ”

Xiaoshu shook his arm, but didn't shake it off. Su Yu grasped it very tightly.

"Xiaoshu, my grandfather was dying that day, and I hurried home before I had time to tell you, I'm really sorry."

Hearing Su Yu say this, the sullenness in Shi Xiaoshu's heart was slightly soothed: "What are you looking for me?" ”

"I want to ask, where did the troupe go?" Su Yu was a little embarrassed.

"How do I know?" Xiaoshu looked indifferent, "They walk the streets and alleys, and wherever someone invites, they will go." ”

"If your cousin and cousin come to your house, can you tell me?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I think, I want to learn erhu from your cousin." When Su Yu said such a thing, even he felt far-fetched.

"The two of us haven't been in touch for years. My cousins and cousins rarely come to my house either. Xiaoshu shook his arm again. Su Yu let go of his hand.

Xiaoshu continued: "My aunt and my father do not have a good relationship, although we are relatives, we rarely communicate. ”

"Oh......" Su Yu was disappointed.

"You can go to Huangjiang County to have a look, I heard that the troupe is going to the county seat to perform." The little tree threw down a sentence and went into the mountain.

Su Yu returned home in a huff.

He slipped into his grandfather's bedroom, secretly took some silver dollars, and prepared to go to Shun'an Wharf to take a boat into the county seat. As soon as he got out of the old man's bedroom, he was bumped into by his mother.

"What are you going for?" Su Zixuan is kind to other books, and has always been affectionate to his three daughters, but he rarely smiles at his sons. Her cold gaze repeatedly left shadows in Su Yu's heart.

"I, I want to go to the county seat to see if there are any new editions of books recently."

"Buy books, hehe," Su Zixuan sneered, "When did Su Gongzi like new books?" Didn't you always think that the Four Books and the Five Classics were the best books in the world? ”

"Oh, me, I want to find some new books to read to grandpa." Su Yu regretted it when he said this, he was really clumsy. Such excuses do not stand up to scrutiny.

Not to mention that Old Lady Su wakes up from time to time and is delirious, even if he wants to study, he should also find some works of Confucius and Mencius to make his old man feel at ease.

In fact, Su Yu's speech is not stupid, but when he arrives in front of his mother, his ability to express himself has dropped by three steps.

"If you want to buy books, just right, come with me to Chang Gung Bookstore. The carriage was ready. Su Zixuan lifted his robe and walked out with a big stride.

Su Yu was unhappy in his heart, but he didn't dare to resist, so he had to follow his mother out of the door.

If I want to see the girl who sings, I can only wait for the time being.

In this family, Su Yu is not afraid of anyone except his mother.

Although Su Zixuan is a woman, she is open-minded, not only has she come into contact with some revolutionaries, but also sent her twin daughters Su Zhu and Su Lan to Wuchang to study.

The two daughters first studied at the Provincial Normal School, and later transferred to the Wuhan branch of the Huangpu Military Academy at the same time, that is, the fifth phase of Huangpu to study.

Su Zixuan also wanted to train Su Yu well, hoping that he would take on the great cause of the academy. Helplessly, Su Yu has been timid and afraid of things since he was a child, which may have inherited his father's kindness and cowardice.

Su Zixuan was angry, so he lost patience. Because of this, she puts a lot of energy into her two twin daughters.

The eldest daughter, Su Mei, is a decent woman, who does things in a clear way and takes care of the family in an orderly manner. Su Zixuan originally wanted to recruit a son-in-law for her, but she had already selected Chen Ang. Later, Su Yu was born, and Chen Ang's involvement was not mentioned again.

Chen Ang lives in the Su family all the year round, almost like a son-in-law. He not only served as the gentleman of the academy, taught some new ideas to the scholars, but also participated in the daily management of some of the Su family. Of course, it is Su Zixuan who makes decisions on major matters.

In addition to Chen Ang, the academy also invited two gentlemen, one is Gu Jin, an old Xiucai, who specializes in teaching the Four Books and Five Classics, and the other is Dr. Li, who has stayed abroad, to lecture on Western ideology and cultural systems.

Su Zixuan's concept of running the academy was not in harmony with Mrs. Su, and she often made some moves that broke through tradition, and the old lady was very dissatisfied. A few years ago, I still had the strength to change back, but in the past few years, people have grown old, the way of the world has changed, and I can't control it.

However, people are not old at heart. Old lady Su couldn't control her daughter Su Zixuan, so she put her mind on her grandson Su Yu.

Su Yu's personality is incompatible with his mother, but he coincides with Mrs. Su. So, the old lady passed on all the lifelong insights to Su Yu, hoping that his grandson could inherit his mantle, run the academy according to Confucianism, and carry it forward.

Now, the old lady is sick. No one supported Su Yu, and he didn't dare to act boldly in front of his mother.

The old lady proposed to engage Su Yu, Su Zixuan just wanted to deal with it at the time, and then thought about it, maybe his father was right, Su Yu got married early, and he could become an adult as soon as possible.

The horse's hooves "click, click" knock on the bluestone pavement.

Su Zixuan and Su Yu sat in the car, no one spoke, each thinking about their own thoughts.