Chapter 396: Two Family Letters

【Older brother, seeing your letter is like seeing you in person.】

When I, your foolish younger brother, picked up the brush to write this letter, we two brothers have already been truly separated for over ten months; I don't know if you still remember my appearance, nor if you still blame me for my earlier reproach of you in front of the Sovereign......

Although one must adapt in emergencies, I, your foolish younger brother, whenever I recall it late at night, am constantly filled with regret.

This time, by fortunate favor from the Sovereign, I obtained grace, left the Central Plains, and returned to An Nan.

If I am fortunate enough to survive, Older Brother, if you wish to scold or strike me, I will accept your punishment.

This is the first letter I, your foolish younger brother, have sent you; if I do not die, it will certainly not be the last.

This letter ends here.

In this life I have no other wish; I only wish Older Brother health and smooth sailing.】

This brat, his writing is still annoyingly pedantic......

However, one can see that there is some genuine feeling between these two brothers.

Du Shanü casually closed the thin letter, placing it on the table beside her.

The force was neither too great nor too slight, yet it nearly brushed the rim of the earlier cold tea cup, lifting a few spots of cold-colored water that seeped into the night.

Ouyang Yan clearly treasured the letter Ouyang An had sent; he glanced cautiously at Du Shanü's expression, seeing she was unmoved, and hastily pinched up the letter to wipe it, then tucked it into his bosom.

Du Shanü pretended not to notice Ouyang Yan's careful glance, while opening the surprisingly thick second letter and casually asking:

"Why is this letter so long?"

"Could it be that after receiving the first letter, you wrote him a reply?"

The facts prove that Du Shanü's intuition is always unexpectedly accurate,

Ouyang Yan has been in a state of quasi-house arrest for a long time.

Du Shanü had specifically ordered this, so he cannot go out, cannot correspond with others, and cannot handle official duties as an ordinary person would.

Ouyang An can still send letters to Ouyang Yan, and even claim they are sent from outside An Nan.

But if, after Du Shanü's order, anyone still dares to defy her command and let Ouyang Yan send a letter......

Ouyang Yan was struck by Du Shanü's sudden suspicion, and instantly felt a bitter resentment.

He is considerably taller than Du Shanü, yet from beginning to end he remains kneeling before her with legs together, obedient.

Well-behaved, gentle.

Du Shanü, looking down from above, could even see the thinness of his neck bones from prolonged confinement.

Ouyang Yan seems unable to suppress the natural slight tremor that comes over him when facing her.

He trembles, he pleads, he sheds tears.

He...... begs for the last shred of life:

"...... Indeed, I have sent a letter."

"When I, your subject, received the first letter from your younger brother, your husband was just experiencing a disappearance... oh no, he had gone to Zhoufu to look for you, and was found not long after."

"At that time I sat beneath the window, weeping; your husband happened to pass by, asked what had happened, I explained everything, and thus he took charge, allowing the eager subject to send a letter to his younger brother."

"Many in the manor know of this; if you wish to blame someone, blame only me, and do not blame him......"

Sure enough, it's still that nearly forty-year-old aged green tea.

As soon as it's opened, the flavor is still this strong.

Du Shanü was smoked into giving a white eye; she really couldn't hold back, and said speechlessly:

"Nonsense, he is my legitimate husband; how could I blame him? Who are you trying to sow discord between by saying this?"

Ouyang Yan felt a surge of grievance, nearly choking on his own words.

Du Shanü doesn't care whether he feels wronged; in both her past and present lives, she has seen plenty of men flattering her, accustomed to such scenes, and is simply indifferent.

While casually opening the second letter, she asked offhand:

"What did you write in your reply?"

Ouyang Yan covered his face with his sleeve, gently wiping the corners of his eyes, seemingly inadvertently shifting his knees, quietly moving closer to Du Shanü, and spoke softly:

"The letter I replied with is very simple, mostly saying things like 'Older Brother raised him from childhood, how could he truly blame him,' and so on......"

Du Shanü had been sitting with her legs crossed, carefully checking the page numbers of a thick stack of letters under the dim oil lamp, preparing to read them closely.

But after checking only halfway, she realized something was off, suddenly lowered her head to look closely, and discovered that Ouyang Yan had, at some point, placed his face upon the top of her crossed foot!

Du Shanü: "......"

What kind of ploy is this?

She had never seen this before!

Where is Chinu?

Where did Chinu go to die?!

He usually manages things most strictly!

He looks as if he wants to kill even the male mosquitoes beside her!

Oh no......

Cang Cheng never had a Chinu; he is still in Zhoufu leading Yuan Long.

What about Yu Baobao! Yu Baobao!

As her legitimate husband, how can he tolerate others trying to seduce his Wife Master here!

Oh no......

At this time.

He should already be asleep, belly up.

What's going on?

She has two husbands, yet not one of them gives her a moment's peace!

She wasn't talking about the snack meant to be eaten.

Du Shanü glanced down from above at the face clearly plastered with flattery and pleading, pressed against the top of her shoe; the beauty's visage was still youthful, and under the lamp she exuded a shy, reluctant charm......

Still, in terms of allure she couldn't match Chinu, in innocence she couldn't match Yu Baobao, and even that innate grace and elegance fell short of Chen Weifang's.

She hadn't even won over Chen Weifang, so how could she be moved by someone like this?

Du Shanü gave a sly half‑laugh and said:

"The ground is cold; get up."

"When your little brother comes before me, what he wants to see certainly won't be you like this."

She neither agreed nor refused.

But sometimes, certain words are more embarrassing than a scolding.

Ouyang Yan seemed a bit forlorn, still kneeling in place, and for a moment he didn't move his face away.

Du Shanü said nothing more, merely crossed her legs, straightened the pages, and began reading the second letter.

Perhaps because she had received a reply and wasn't blamed, the wording of the second letter became less stiff, finally revealing a hint of youthful liveliness appropriate to her age——

【Older brother! I knew you couldn't possibly blame me!!!】

You don't know, but I miss you so much!

You have always been my heaven and earth, my mother and father!

I have safely returned to An Nan now!

Don't blame me for not asking the Lord to bring you along; if I had, the Lord certainly wouldn't have let me go!

Rest assured, I've thought it through—once I'm settled, I'll come back and fetch you back in grand style, just the same!

Besides, An Nan has been unsettled lately; if you followed me back to suffer, you'd be better off staying in Yongzhou, for Yongzhou is quite secure under the Lord's rule......

By the way, speaking of An Nan, I happen to have a few interesting things to tell you, older brother!

Since we last left An Nan, it has undergone a tremendous transformation!

First the King fell ill, then the Crown Prince conscripted troops to launch a sneak attack on Yongzhou, hoping to seize it; but in that battle Yongzhou was already prepared and its troops were utterly routed.

The Crown Prince had intended to levy troops again and take it by force, but who would have thought the King's illness would suddenly improve just then!

Not only did he recover, but the King also accused the Crown Prince of poisoning him, of plotting to murder his own father!