Chapter 129 Eight Family Letters

Zhizhi waited until dark, and all the lanterns in the yard were lit, but she still didn't see her father.

She didn't cry at first, just sat in one place, pouting, very unhappy, and even stopped playing with the little tiger. Later, Wei Li still didn't appear, and her eyes started to well up with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

This was his own daughter, and Zhao Xiheng felt a pang of heartache looking at her. He quickly hugged her and kissed her hair, saying, "Baby, go to sleep. Your father will be back when you wake up."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. As soon as she finished speaking, Zhizhi hugged Zhao Xiheng's neck and started crying. She wasn't wailing, but sobbing and crying, and then she kept pointing outside and shouting, "Ya ya, ya ya..."

She was upset because she didn't see anyone she knew, and Zhao Xiheng felt bad seeing her like this.

She cried for a while, and when it was time to sleep, she fell asleep in Zhao Xiheng's arms.

As soon as Wei Li left the city gate, he wished he could turn back. His heart was restless, like a cat scratching at him. In the end, he forced himself to endure it and continued on his way.

When he arrived at Dandong County, which borders Qingzhou, it was already late at night. The governor of Dandong County arranged for him to stay at the official post station.

As dawn approached, a light spring rain began to fall outside the window.

The spring breeze, carrying new leaves and soft rain, pattered against the window, and the hazy green light shone through the window paper, dispelling most of the darkness in the room.

Wei Li turned over, still unable to sleep. He touched his chest, took out a small sachet from his bosom, inside which was a lock of hair from when Zhi Zhi was 100 days old. He tied it together with a lock of hair that he and Zhao Xi Heng had cut off, symbolizing that the family would be together forever.

This wasn't tied with their hair from their wedding day; it was a new haircut they both had.

He didn't want to use the hair he cut off at their wedding; that belonged to him and Zhao Xiheng, and he wouldn't use Zhao Tulin's hair.

He used his wrist as a pillow under his cheek, and with his other hand he stroked the outline of the hair inside, his eyes beginning to redden.

Wei Li felt that the older he got, the less capable he became. He was already twenty-one or twenty-two, but he was not as mature as when he was seventeen or eighteen. It was just a month or two apart, not a matter of life and death.

What a loser!

He kissed the sachet, put it back in his arms, pulled the blanket up, and huddled inside. In an instant, most of the emptiness he felt dissipated.

He had to prove himself; he wanted to conquer Qingzhou and become the overlord of the entire north, so that no one would dare to provoke him, and only then could life be peaceful. As for why he didn't rebuild the divided Great Zhou, it was because he lacked the ability and time; that was that.

Wei Li covered himself with the blanket and went over his plan again.

Once Qingzhou is captured, the entire plan will be basically complete. In a few years, we can then attack the Xianbei.

but……

He rolled over, folded his hands under his neck. He'd been away from home for two days already, why hadn't Zhao Xiheng written him a letter?

It's one thing for Zhao Shiliu to be immature and unable to write, but why is she also so immature as not to write letters?

Before leaving, I told her not to forget me, but now I realize that my words were completely wasted.

The spring rain outside was falling harder and harder, pattering like pouring beans. Wei Li was in a bad mood and found everything irritating. He had no interest in appreciating the gentle spring rain.

He rolled around in the dark quilt for a long time, crossing his legs and putting them down repeatedly. Finally, he got up, put on his clothes, and opened the window. The damp, cool spring breeze, mixed with rain, rushed in, carrying the scent of spring returning to the earth.

Zhao Xiheng didn't know to write him a letter, but as a man of principle, he wouldn't hold a grudge against a petty person, so he reluctantly wrote to Zhao Xiheng!

It doesn't matter who writes it!

I said I would write a letter, but there wasn't much of anything substantial to write; most of it was just rambling nonsense.

But for Wei Li, anything he wants to say is not nonsense.

"It's raining outside, there's no moon, Qingzhou is warmer than Pingzhou, the flowers are all in bloom, I can't sleep..."

There's no moon, the flowers are blooming, I can't sleep, I miss you.

He flicked the letter paper and blew the ink dry. Zhao Xiheng was on the same wavelength as him and could probably understand it.

As he finished writing the letter, he remembered his Zhao Shiliu and added, "Tell Shiliu that I'll bring her something nice when I go home, and tell her not to cry."

He read it several times with satisfaction, corrected the typos by referring to the book, and then passed the envelope down, feeling that it was probably time to get a good night's sleep.

The journey from Dandong to Buxian takes three days if the journey is slow, but only a day and a half if the horse is fast. Since it was a letter from Wei Li's family, and he was away from home with Zhao Xiheng acting as his dean, everyone assumed that the letter contained some important information and could not be delayed. Of course, they dared not delay for a moment and immediately sent someone to deliver it.

While Zhao Xiheng wasn't paying attention, Song Xuan quietly poked Zhizhi, who was slowly crawling on the blanket, causing the little one to fall backward like a short-limbed turtle.

Zhizhi looked at her in disbelief, while Song Xuan turned her head away awkwardly.

"Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony for the first batch of girls' school students. You and your men will maintain order at the foot of the mountain. There will be many people; we need to prevent a stampede," Zhao Xiheng instructed without looking up after reviewing the preliminary examination list for this year's girls' school.

"Ah! Oh, okay, I understand." Song Xuan was suddenly called on and quickly snapped back to reality.

"Report!" A messenger rushed in, "A letter from the lord."

Zhao Xiheng's hand tightened involuntarily as she gripped the book pages. Controlling her expression, she raised her head with a forced smile and said softly, "Tell him to take good care of himself while he's away, not to write home anymore, and to get plenty of sleep and rest when he has time."

Don't write letters unless it's absolutely necessary; she doesn't want to receive them anymore!

The messenger accepted the order and withdrew.

Zhao Xiheng grinned and roughly tore the letter open.

She wanted to see what this good-for-nothing would write back this time! Just now, in front of outsiders, she didn't tell this bastard to stop writing letters to save Wei Li's face, hoping he would behave himself.

Eight letters a day, all rambling nonsense. If there were even a single useful word, she wouldn't have gone from having some longing for him at the beginning to feeling annoyed every time she sees his letters.

Who can write eight letters home in a day?

She hadn't even finished reading the previous letter when the next one arrived. At first, she was moved by Wei Li's letter, but now she felt numb.

It's as if he's still here beside her, nagging on and on, never stopping for a moment. She finds it hard to miss him now.

The messenger suddenly turned back, quietly peering through the doorframe and asking, "Does Madam have any letter to write to the lord?"

This was something his lord specifically asked him to ask before he left. He heard from other brothers that his lord had only been in Dandong for three days, but had sent nearly twenty letters home, and his wife hadn't replied to a single one.

That's a bit tragic...

Zhao Xiheng had a blank expression. "Then wait a moment."

She picked up her brush and neatly wrote eight large characters that filled the entire sheet of Xuan paper: "Fight well and don't think about home."

To avoid seeming a bit perfunctory, Zhao Xiheng took Zhizhi's hand and made her press a small handprint on the paper.

"Go ahead." She handed the letter over.

Wei Li is ruthless; he deceived Wang Zhiyao's three sons. These three greenhorns have big ambitions, but they're still inexperienced.

Now, Wang Zhiyao's three sons all thought that Wei Li was on their side. They were all confident and the scene was very lively, like a grand opera performance.

The messenger delivered the letter to Wei Li, who put down the melon seeds in his hand, clapped his hands, and solemnly opened the envelope.

He examined the eight characters and handprint in total, turning them over and over, trying to find the most interesting details.

The messenger relayed Zhao Xiheng's original words.

Zhao Xiheng understood Wei Li, and Wei Li naturally understood Zhao Xiheng as well; he immediately understood the implication in her words.

Good grief, isn't it because you find his letters too annoying?

They really don't know what's good for them. It would be great if he were willing to write home, which would show that he wasn't having affairs outside and that he still cared about his wife and child.

But since she replied, he wasn't angry about what she said. Even though it was only eight words, it was better than nothing.

Wei Li put down the reply, adopting a detached expression, seemingly showing no joy or excitement at the reply. He waved his hand, "You may leave."

After the messenger left, Wei Li, seeing that no one was around, touched the small handprint on the last part of the letter and then leaned down to kiss it.

He wouldn't kiss in front of outsiders; he's the local tyrant of Pingzhou, and he cares about his reputation.

Wei Li had long forgotten the disdain he felt when he saw Zhao Xiheng's parents exchanging messages back and forth, finding them cloying and effeminate.

I wonder who's writing eight letters home a day these days; they're really getting their comeuppance.

Since Wei Li wasn't home, Zhao Xiheng took over his study. It was spacious and bright, perfect for working with a child.

Spring in Pingzhou is mostly cold, but at midday the wind is warm and the sun is shining. The snow outside has mostly melted, and everything comes back to life, revealing the bare, damp, brown earth.

Zhao Xiheng opened the window beside her desk. The air was filled with the fragrance of earth from the rain that had fallen the night before, making it exceptionally fresh.

She propped herself up, peered out, and suddenly caught a glimpse of something buried in the soil below the window.

It looked like a small wooden box, with only one corner showing, the rest buried in the soil.

Because of the low shrubs planted nearby, if it weren't for the fact that it's now bare and the snow has melted, probably no one would be able to see it.

Zhao Xiheng thought that Wei Li had dropped something and forgotten to pick it up.

She tied her skirt, being careful not to get her shoes and socks dirty, used a hairpin to dig through the soil, and then dug out the dirty box and washed it clean with water.

The box is made of nanmu wood, which is rot-resistant, but it's unclear how long it's been buried in the ground. The surface looks somewhat old, and there's a small lock on it that's already rusted.

Zhao Xiheng tapped the table, and the lock opened, revealing another box inside.

Zhao Xiheng, “???”

What is this thing that is so precious that it needs to be wrapped in layer upon layer?

She picked it up and shook it; it made a clanging and banging sound inside, as if it contained some kind of metal.

Then he knocked on the table to unlock it.

Inside was a small, locked box...

She was certain that this likely contained Wei Li's little secret, the kind he was afraid to share with others. It probably wasn't something he dropped accidentally; he must have thrown it away himself.

The last box was opened, and its contents were fully revealed.

It looks like... a rouge box, or a lip balm box...

Is it pure gold? Was it bought for her? Why would you need to wrap it up in so many layers if it was bought for her?