Han Jinghong had known since childhood that his grandfather desperately wanted to return to the Imperial City, but he never knew the specific reason why.

Tonight, his grandfather finally told him the story, and he had to agree that their great-grandfather had been a good-for-nothing.

In the end, he was forced to take his branch of the family and eke out a living in the poor, remote Yunhe County.

His father and uncles were born and raised in Yunhe County, so they had no particular desire to return to the Imperial City.

But his grandfather was different. He had grown up in the Imperial City and was very close to his own grandfather from the main family branch.

Especially in his old age, he deeply missed his hometown and his relatives. It was only now that Han Jinghong learned the origins of their Han family.

His great-grandfather originally had a wife from a family of equal social standing, but influenced by foreign ideas, he felt that an arranged marriage by his parents would not bring happiness.

So, following the trend, he got a divorce. He later married a girl he was truly in love with, a young lady from a fallen, once-great family.

Once they were married, his great-grandfather’s parents cut him off financially, forcing him to earn his own money.

It’s said that one day, his great-grandfather, wearing a pair of pants riddled with holes, walked up to his wife.

He pleaded, "Xiao Mi, give me some money. I need to buy a new pair of pants."

However, his wife responded angrily, "There’s no extra money! You only make four hundred silver dollars a month. That’s not even enough for me."

The more his wife spoke, the more vexed she became. After all, she was a young lady from a great family, a famous beauty of the Republic era.

She had been a prominent figure in old Beijing’s high society, yet now she was living in such dire straits.

This made her feel all the more miserable. From a young age, she had displayed extraordinary talent; she was naturally intelligent, skilled at socializing, and had lived a life of affluence.

Her parents had cultivated her meticulously: she was fluent in many languages, skilled at playing the piano and painting, and possessed elegant calligraphy...

Even a great contemporary scholar had once wittily remarked that she was a "sight in Beijing one could not ignore."

Many sons of wealthy families pursued her, but under her parents’ arrangement, she married a man of great ambition at the time.

This ambitious man had studied abroad and was a renowned figure. The only drawback was that his work kept him too busy to spend much time with his wife.

One time, while idle, she attended a ball and met Han Jinghong’s great-grandfather. The two quickly fell for each other.

His great-grandmother resolutely left that ambitious man, determined to remarry his great-grandfather.

Although all their friends and family opposed the union, the two firmly got together anyway.

Who would have known that their life after marriage would be so poor? His great-grandmother regretted her decision immensely, but it was too late.

The Han family had been swimming in money in Beijing back then; she never dreamed they would cut off their living expenses.

The Han family had even warned her when they married, hoping she would observe her wifely duties and not treat marriage like a game. They hoped this would be her last marriage.

These words made them both feel deeply guilty. They had received no blessings, only warnings.

However, she had always lived in wealth and had no concept of frugality. She had been a spendthrift since she was a child.

After marrying his great-grandfather, she began to live a destitute life. Without her parents’ support, their finances became even tighter.

But his great-grandfather worked hard for the sake of love, giving her his entire monthly income of four hundred silver dollars, but it still wasn’t enough.

Four hundred silver dollars is equivalent to about fifteen hundred yuan today. So how on earth did his great-grandmother manage to squander it all?

It turned out that after they married, his great-grandfather indulged his young great-grandmother too much. They often went to the theater, played mahjong, and attended evening balls.

They bought fashionable clothes and savored delicious cuisine. In addition, they rented a luxurious apartment for one hundred silver dollars a month.

They hired ten servants, including a driver and a cook. These expenses were considerable.

These costs were an unnecessary burden on the family, and they faced an increasingly dire financial situation.

No matter how hard his great-grandfather worked, he couldn’t earn enough to cover her expenses. A few years later, forget about romantic trifles—she wasn’t even willing to buy him a pair of pants.

His great-grandfather resented her for her lack of consideration, and she resented him for his lack of ability. The two ended up as a resentful couple.

They had fallen in love at first sight, sealing a lifetime of misfortune. A love story meant for an eternity froze in an instant, and in the end, it concluded with another divorce.

Han Jinghong’s great-grandmother had long since taken her children—that is, Han Jinghong’s grandfather and his siblings—and returned to her maternal home in Yun City.

She settled down in Yun City. Even after learning that his great-grandfather had divorced again, she had no desire to see him.

His great-grandmother was so devastated by the divorce that if it weren’t for her young children, she would have lost the will to live.

More than twenty years later, only after all her children had started their own families did she pass away peacefully.

Grandpa Han was weeping by the time he finished the story, and Han Jinghong was moved as well. "Grandpa, I’ll go to Shuanghe Village first thing tomorrow morning to find Su Shuochi."

"Jinghong, don’t push yourself too hard. It’s enough for me to go to the Imperial City once a year to see my old cousin."

Han Jinghong looked at his elderly grandfather and thought to himself, ’If you really don’t care, then why tell me all this?’

But he was perceptive enough to offer comfort. "Grandpa, we will definitely live in the Imperial City again. Even if I don’t know Su Shuochi, I can rely on myself to buy a house there."

"Jinghong, I have high hopes for you. Unlike my own brother’s grandsons, who are all so disappointing." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"..."

"It’s late, Jinghong. You should get some sleep. I’m old; five hours of sleep a night is enough for me."

"You should go to bed early too, Grandpa. I have to get up early tomorrow for Shuanghe Village." After saying this, Han Jinghong returned to his room to rest.

The subject of their discussion, Su Shuochi, finished his phone call with his wife and drove back to Shuanghe Village.

At the entrance to the Su’s house, he saw Hu Meili lingering under the phoenix tree and averted his eyes in disgust.

"Brother Su, where have you been? Why are you back so late?" Hu Meili asked shamelessly.

The only answer she received was a gust of wind. Su Shuochi had already slipped inside. Hearing the noise, Song Zijie ran out to help carry things.

"Oh, hey, you. Where’s my Brother Su?"

Song Zijie shot Hu San a contemptuous look. ’Her? Thinking she can steal Su from my sister-in-law? She must be dreaming.’

"Su went inside to take a shower. You want to follow him in? Not a chance. You two, one of you stay here and keep an eye on her. The other, help me move this stuff inside."

"You... you..."

Song Zijie immediately cut off whatever Hu San was about to say. "What about me?"

"You’re taking this too far!"

"So what if I am? What are you going to do about it? Go cry to your old man. You think I’m scared of him?"

"SOB... You’re all bullying me."

"I don’t bully people. I only bully animals. And those who covet married men are worse than animals."

Unable to take it anymore, Hu San ran off crying. Second Madam Hu, who had been hiding nearby and watching the show, threw her head back and laughed silently in the darkness.

Su Ermei, who lived in a side room of the Su’s house with her three children, also burst out laughing.