CHAPTER 329: CHAPTER 325: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 14

Anning also did what she said she would do; after bidding farewell to Li Zhicheng, she promptly sought out the military leader, the Great General of the northwest, Xu Biao.

Speaking of Xu Biao, he is quite an interesting character.

He grew up in poverty, and later during the years of calamity, his parents and siblings all died, leaving him as the sole survivor.

With no attachments, he roamed the streets, living irregularly, one meal full, the next hungry.

Later, when Anning joined the Grand Ancestor’s rebellion and subsequently recovered the area where Xu Biao was, she entered the city and after freshening up, took a walk on the streets.

She certainly was not dressed in armor, but in ordinary women’s clothing.

As fate would have it, she encountered Xu Biao, who happened to be extremely hungry at the time and stole Anning’s purse, thinking she was a foreigner.

Anning chased him through several streets before finally catching Xu Biao.

Having been physically strong since youth and having learned some rudimentary martial arts, Xu Biao considered himself formidable. Caught by Anning, he was not afraid, and even threatened her.

However, after a stern handling by Anning, she managed to subdue him.

This man respected the strong; as long as someone was stronger than him, he didn’t care if it was a man or a woman, he would be convinced.

At that moment, Xu Biao knelt on the ground and began calling her ’Grandma’.

Anning casually mentioned she didn’t have such a big child, but this guy took it to heart and insisted on acknowledging Anning as his Godmother.

Anning ignored him, but this kid shamelessly stuck by her side and eventually followed Anning and Marquis Zhongyong to war, taking care of tasks like leading horses.

Anning could see this kid was inherently good, just lacked upbringing from a young age. Feeling pity for his background, she decided to formally set a feast and joyously took him as her adoptive son.

Having accepted an adoptive son, Anning did not neglect him.

She kept Xu Biao close and taught him martial arts and military strategies; truth be told, Anning invested more in this adoptive son than she would in her own child.

Xu Biao was also very filial. In recent years, when the Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion was organizing Anning’s funeral, Xu Biao, on hearing the news, insisted on returning to pay his respects to his Godmother. However, being the Northwest General, he was not allowed to enter the Capital without an imperial decree. Frustrated, he was about to resign and retire to his hometown until Tang Dingguo personally wrote a letter that finally persuaded him.

Now, Anning stood outside the General Mansion, staring entranced at its gates.

She waited a good while before going up to knock.

The gatekeeper opened the door, and upon seeing Anning, hesitated for a moment: "Lady, what brings you here?"

Anning handed over a letter: "Give this to your General, it’s a message from the Capital."

Hearing it was a letter from the Capital, the gatekeeper thought it was urgent news from either Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion or Duke Zhongyi Mansion, and hurriedly took the letter to deliver it to Xu Biao in the study.

Xu Biao was just contemplating the upcoming anniversary of his Godmother’s death and how he could find a way to return to the Capital for the commemoration, when the servant reported a letter from the Capital.

He quickly had it brought in.

Upon opening the letter and seeing the familiar handwriting, Xu Biao, despite being a grown man, couldn’t help but shed tears.

After reading the letter, he rushed out, forgetting everything else.

The servants of the mansion were terrified, thinking something grave had happened in the Capital.

When Xu Biao reached the gate and saw Anning, he burst into tears crying out loud.

"Oh mother, your son missed you so much."

Anning couldn’t help but cry and laugh at the same time.

Xu Biao, tall and massively built with a face covered in tough flesh, looked extremely fierce, yet now this fierce man was crying like a child, it was indeed a sight.

"Enough."

Anning lifted her leg and strode inside: "Such a big man still crying, aren’t you ashamed? Don’t go around saying you’re my son in the future."

Xu Biao quickly wiped away his tears: "Son won’t cry anymore, truly, Mother, were you worrying about me on the other side, that’s why you came back to life to see me, or is there something you want to instruct your son? Mother, your son is not unfilial. When you passed away, your son wanted to come back to mourn for you, but it’s that dog emperor who imposed all those rules, no returning to the Capital without an imperial decree, damn it..."

Anning glared at him: "Watch your language."

Xu Biao immediately quieted down.

Anning entered the study, and when Xu Biao came in, she asked him to close the door: "I’m not dead, none of this coming back to life stuff."

"Not dead?"

Xu Biao stared at Anning with big eyes as round as copper bells, up and down, still in disbelief, then touched Anning’s hand again; it was indeed warm.

Thump! Xu Biao knelt down and hugged Anning’s legs, bursting into great sobs: "Mother, you’re alright, you’re not dead, that’s wonderful. Your son still has his mother’s love, your son still has a mother..."

Anning sighed, seeing such a big man cry like a dog, she couldn’t bear it.

She bent down to help Xu Biao up: "Alright, get up, let’s talk, otherwise, I might just leave."

Xu Biao hurriedly got up.

He respectfully helped Anning to sit down, his face beaming with a big smile: "Mother, last year my wife finally gave birth to a daughter. Should I bring your granddaughter over for you to see?"

"I’d rather not."

Anning coldly spoke: "I’m currently not supposed to see her, for fear of bringing disaster upon your daughter."

"What’s that supposed to mean." Xu Biao wasn’t pleased: "You’re the child’s grandma, why wouldn’t you see her?"

Anning waved her hand, cutting off his words: "Silly boy, precisely because I am your mother, and her granny, I should cherish her even more. Do you know why I pretended to be dead all these years?"

Xu Biao shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.

Anning pointed upwards: "Someone above was plotting against me, they wanted me dead at any cost, I had no choice but to comply. These years I’ve been hiding my identity, and now I finally have enough capability, I came out because I had to save Pei’er."

"Pei’er?" Xu Biao frowned: "What happened to Pei’er?"

Anning whispered to Xu Biao about Tang Pei’s near-drowning incident: "Although your brother didn’t find any evidence, I think this must be the doing of Mrs. Song and Ms. Zhang, that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo. I’m here to tell you, in the future, if those two ask you for anything, don’t agree. They’re no good, don’t get dragged into trouble by them."

Xu Biao, angered, slammed the table: "Good, a pair of venomous women, daring to plot against our child! If I ever make it to the Capital, I’ll definitely give them a harsh beating."

But don’t tell Xu Biao anything about not hitting women.

This guy has no such concerns.

He’s a brute; if provoked, there’s hardly anyone he wouldn’t hit, except he still respects Anning and her husband; practically no one else can control him.

"Stay away from them."

Anning warned Xu Biao once again.

At the same time, Anning told him about the Li family being exiled to the northwest: "That’s after all Pei’er’s maternal family. If you can, take care of them, don’t let them suffer injustice or humiliation."

Xu Biao nodded: "Your son understands. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, your son would have taken care of it."

After discussing the urgent issues, Xu Biao was about to order people to clean up a room, planning to provide for Anning in the General Mansion.

Anning quickly declined: "Don’t bother, I won’t be staying long. Tomorrow, I still want to take Pei’er around. I don’t want to be cooped up here."