Chapter 895: The Dust-covered Letter
Mr. Yang and his wife were devastated upon receiving the news, but they had no choice but to make plans for the future.
At that time, they had only a twelve-year-old daughter and a son who was less than two years old.
Grandpa Yang recalled the refugees who had rushed into the city during the chaos not long ago, smashing up grain shops and stealing the stored grain. He knew that these outsiders who killed people everywhere were even more vicious and brutal than them.
In times of war, the bottom line of etiquette and law has long been rendered meaningless. Once people lose what binds them, they become like animals, acting solely on instinct and selfishness, with the strong preying on the weak and plundering whatever they want at will.
The Yang family, as the largest and most famous wealthy merchants in the area, usually appears quite glamorous, but at times like these, they are nothing short of a piece of fat meat, tempting countless people to come and take a bite.
Old Master Yang was a decisive man. After quickly assessing the situation, he immediately instructed his wife to pack some easily portable valuables, leaving behind most of the family's gold and silver treasures. With their two children, they escaped from the Yang mansion under the cover of the steward and some trusted confidants.
However, what Grandpa Yang didn't expect was that after he led his wife and children out of this province, he discovered that the fighting wasn't limited to their area.
War is raging everywhere. Often, people from war-torn areas who want to escape to peaceful places will hear that their destination has also fallen before they even reach it.
Grandpa Yang and his family traveled a long way but could not find a place to stay. Instead, they were unexpectedly separated during their escape.
Since then, he has never seen his wife and two children again.
The war lasted a very long time, and Grandpa Yang did not live to see the end of the war before passing away.
More than a decade after they were separated, Grandpa Yang eventually returned to his old house.
At that time, the house was already in ruins, with many of the residences reduced to rubble.
Grandpa Yang moved back into the house and resumed his old trade, secretly helping to transport a lot of supplies to the front lines.
But he didn't get to do this for long. After years of traveling around, Grandpa Yang's health had become very weak.
In the fifth year after returning to the old house, he fell seriously ill and died. Before he died, he forced himself to dig a hole under the oak tree that he had planted after returning home and buried a wooden box inside.
Less than a minute had passed, but the people gathered around the box, enveloped in the white light, felt as if they had personally experienced that era of war alongside Grandpa Yang.
When the white light faded, everyone's expression was somewhat dazed and solemn.
The suffocating silence lasted for nearly three minutes before Ye Wanxi finally spoke up to draw everyone's attention back.
"The contents of this box seem to be..."
Everyone's attention then turned back to the contents of the box. When the box was opened, the first thing they saw was a very thick layer of oil paper, which was bulging inside, presumably containing something.
Obviously, the oil paper was specially used to protect what was inside. To see what was inside, you would have to remove the oil paper first.
The group exchanged bewildered glances. After what had just happened, everyone knew that something extremely important must be inside.
They were all so excited to find the treasure before, but now no one dares to make a move.
"Let me take it apart."
Feng Tianyu glanced at everyone and finally took the blame.
Logically, this thing should be handed over to the descendants of the Yang family so that they can dismantle it, but there were no members of the Yang family present at the scene.
Feng Tianyu, on the other hand, is an old friend of the Yang family, and compared to the others present, he is the most suitable person to take charge.
Considering that the contents inside had been hidden for over a hundred years and could be damaged with the slightest touch, Fengtianyu was dismantled very carefully and slowly.
But no one present complained; instead, they watched his every move intently, their hearts pounding in their throats.
When the oil paper was lifted, Feng Tianyu, who was tearing it off, remained relatively calm, but the onlookers broke out in a cold sweat and were extremely nervous.
After removing several layers of oil paper, the contents inside were finally revealed.
"These are...letters?" Zhao Yun'er exclaimed in surprise, "How come there are so many?"
A thick stack of letters, at least hundreds or thousands of them. Who sent them to him? Or who did he intend to send them to?
"Can we read these letters? Or can we pass them on to the descendants of the Yang family for you?" Ye Wanxi asked the owner of the letters directly.
The others also realized what was happening and subconsciously looked at the Yang family head standing not far away.
They were indeed curious about the contents of the letters and wanted to know who they were addressed to, but peeking at other people's mail was a particularly impolite thing to do.
If the head of the Yang family disagrees, no matter how curious they are, they cannot open and read the letter, especially in front of the person in question!
Compared to their previous fear and defensiveness, most of their apprehension has dissipated, leaving only admiration and a heavy sadness.
The head of the Yang family didn't speak, but instead reached out and picked up several photos tucked under the letter.
The photos from that era were almost all black and white, and after so many years, they have long since yellowed, and even the outlines are somewhat unclear.
But everyone recognized at a glance that the person in the photo was... the eldest wife of the Yang family.
The head of the Yang family carefully stroked the corners of the photo, and after a while, he picked up the letter placed on top.
The head of the Yang family did not hide the letter from the crowd, so although the others tried to avoid it, they still saw a lot of the contents.
This letter was probably written by the head of the Yang family before his death, and its contents were as heavy as the memories they had seen before.
My dearest wife: After more than ten years apart, I feel my time is drawing near. My only regret in this life is not being able to see you and our children again. For more than a decade, I have been searching for you, fearing both that I would not find you and that I would receive news of your misfortune. I have tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a single day without thinking of you.
Now that my lifespan has come to an end, I will depart first. I hope that a hundred years from now, I can meet you in the afterlife, which would make up for the regrets of this life. How fortunate I am!
For more than a decade, the head of the Yang family never gave up searching for his wife, daughter, and his second brother's son. He hoped to find them, but he was also afraid that when he did, he would receive news of their deaths.
Therefore, before his death, he held onto a hope that he would leave this world first and go down to the underworld to wait for his wife and children, rather than that his wife and children would be waiting there for him to reunite with them.
After reading this letter filled with longing for family, Zhao Yun'er and the others understood everything. This box of so-called Yang family treasures contained letters that the Yang family head hadn't had time to send and didn't know where to send them.
For more than a decade, war raged everywhere, communication was disrupted, and finding people was like searching for a needle in a haystack. He never forgot them, but he was never able to find them.
(End of this chapter)
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