Chapter 15 You've been married into the Shen family for three years. Is this the first time you've brought something back?
Lu Zhaoruo snapped out of her thoughts and reached out to wipe away her tears.
In this life, she will never allow her brother to marry Li Nian'er. Instead, she will help him go to the capital to pass the military examination with dignity and fulfill his long-cherished wish of protecting his country.
“Brother, this is for you. You must accept it.”
Lu Zhaoruo's tone was unusually firm as she pressed the bundle heavily into Lu Bohong's arms, saying, "If you refuse again, I will disown you as my brother."
Lu Bohong paused for a moment, then put down the bundle: "Little sister, don't be angry, your brother will keep it."
His rough fingers caressed the fabric, which was fine and soft, clearly the finest Yuanzhou crepe silk. He suddenly remembered that three years ago, when he sent his younger sister off to her wedding, there were only two bolts of this kind of fabric in her dowry chest. Now, however…
Despite being a dignified seven-foot-tall second male lead, his eyes quietly reddened.
Because he knew that his younger sister had had a difficult time in the Shen family for the past three years.
He was thinking that Brother Shen had been gone for three years, and his younger sister had taken care of the Shen family all these years. When he returned, he would definitely grab him for a few drinks and have a heart-to-heart talk with him...
The snow-covered path winds its way to the Lu Family Private School on the outskirts of the city.
Back then, Mr. Lu insisted on setting up the school in a secluded place, saying that scholars should stay away from the hustle and bustle of the world.
"Click".
Lu Bohong broke off a dead branch from the roadside and handed it to him.
When Lu Zhaoruo took it, she touched his chapped palm, which was covered in calluses, making her feel both sore and warm.
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw the carriage ahead stuck in a snow pit.
"Please wait a moment, little sister."
Before the words were even finished, the figure wrapped in an old cotton robe had already rushed into the wind and snow.
As Lu Zhaoruo watched her brother push the cart with his bare hands, she recalled the martial arts scholar from her previous life who broke a constable's nose with a single punch to save a charcoal seller.
He knelt on the bluestone slab of the county government office to receive his punishment, but his back was straight: "I practiced martial arts to protect the weak and punish the strong."
He should have been a sword drawn from its sheath, its cold light gleaming, its might shaking all directions, but he was forcibly pressed into the mud.
The official hinted that he needed money to bribe the officials, but he held onto his meager salary and ultimately didn't hand it over. He stayed in the county government for ten years without even saving up a decent set of official robes.
When his father smashed a teacup and forbade him from taking the military examination, Lu really put his beloved bow and arrows away in a box and never touched them again.
After marrying Li Nian'er, that woman would beat and scold him at the drop of a hat. He would always squat alone in the yard sharpening his knife, the blade gleaming, reflecting his red eyes.
To express his gratitude, the coachman insisted that Lu Zhaoruo get into the carriage.
Lu Bohong pushed the cart from behind, his frozen, purple hands pressing against the shaft, leaving a trail of deep footprints in the snow.
Lu Zhaoruo's eyes welled up with tears. In this life, she would never let her beloved brother, who loved her so much, die a death from vomiting blood again.
Upon reaching a fork in the road, the carriage turned and departed.
Lu Zhaoruo slipped and fell into a snowdrift. Lu Bohong immediately squatted down and said, "Little sister, this is how your brother carried you when you were little."
Lu Zhaoru climbed onto his back.
He walked very steadily, as if afraid of falling.
"Brother, if one passes the martial arts exam with top honors, will one be granted a robe and scepter?"
Lu Zhaoruo asked softly.
"It's freezing cold, so the prefectural government said they'd skip the ceremony."
Lu Bohong chuckled and said, "But I did receive a green robe and a locust wood tablet."
Lu Zhaoruo then asked, "What about the parade and the memorial archway..."
Lu Bohong just smiled, but there was a hint of loneliness in his laughter.
Lu Zhaoruo recalled her past life, where there was no arrow banquet, no celebration, and even her father forbade any fanfare.
"Don't worry, little sister."
He suddenly became very excited and said, "The hunter gave me a fox pelt, and blacksmith Cai even made me a long-handled sword!"
The pride in that tone made Lu Zhaoruo's nose sting with tears.
He suddenly asked cautiously, "How...is the Shen family treating you?"
In the past, she would have forced a smile and said, "My aunt and uncle treat me very well."
Now he said, "Brother, don't worry, they won't be able to bully me anymore."
Lu Bohong paused, saying, "If you've been wronged, your brother will take you home."
She chuckled: "Bring me back to raise me?"
“You’re my sister, so of course I’ll take care of you.”
Lu Bohong answered decisively, without even a stutter.
Lu Zhaoru smiled, but a pang of sadness welled up inside her.
My brother would certainly agree, but my mother... would probably cause a huge uproar.
Outside the Lu family courtyard, Lu Zhaoruo had just landed on her brother's back when she heard Tu Shi's sharp cursing voice coming from inside: "That good-for-nothing idiot! She finally got a good piece of cloth, but instead of being filial to her own mother, she eagerly sent it to someone who has already married out."
"What sins have I committed to raise such a treacherous, ungrateful wretch!"
"Bang"
Mr. Lu was pushed out the door, staggering and nearly falling into a snowdrift.
He slowly brushed the snow off the stone bench, sat down, opened the book in his hand, and ignored the incessant cursing inside the room.
"All you do all day is hold those tattered books! You don't even care that your son is squandering the family fortune! I was blind to marry such a good-for-nothing..."
"Now that my son has passed the martial arts exam and is about to bring glory to the family, you old hag have ruined his future! You're just a useless, poor scholar, and you can't stand seeing your son succeed, can you?"
"What sins have I committed... I was about to become the mother of a top scholar, and all the neighbors would bow and pay their respects to me, even the county magistrate would show me deference..."
Lu Zhaoruo looked at her father, his withered fingers stroking the pages of the book, his gaze fixed blankly on the east...
No matter how harsh Tu's insults were over the years, or how loudly she smashed pots and bowls, it was nothing more than a passing breeze to him.
He was alive, yet it was as if he were already dead.
He spends his days either staring blankly at the pages of a book or gazing absently eastward.
She couldn't even remember the last time her father smiled; his face was forever shrouded in a deathly gray aura.
She never understood why her father insisted on preventing her brother from going to the capital to take the imperial examination. Her father simply lowered his eyes, rubbed the tattered copy of the Analects with his withered fingers, and said indifferently, "The capital is a dangerous place. With your temperament... going there would be a waste of your time."
Lu Bohong rushed into the courtyard, his voice booming: "Mother! In this freezing weather, why did you kick Father out again?"
Tu grabbed a broom and threw it at him: "You ungrateful wretch! You still know how to come back? You..."
He suddenly choked up halfway through his sentence. In addition to the piece of cloth he was holding, his son also had several thick winter clothes in his arms.
Lu Zhaoruo walked gently to the stone bench, squatted down, and said softly, "Father, your daughter has come back to see you."
Seeing that her father did not react, she raised her voice: "Father, Aning is back."
Mr. Lu slowly raised his head, a glimmer of light finally appearing in his dull eyes: "Why did you suddenly come back?"
His withered fingers unconsciously clenched the pages of the book. "But...did the Shen family upset you?"
"My daughter is doing well."
Lu Zhaoruo smiled and brushed the snow off her father's shoulders. "I just missed you and Mother."
My fingertips touched those thin shoulder bones, and my heart suddenly ached.
In his previous life, the year after Lu Bohong passed away, his father also went to live with him...
"Ah Ning's back? Come inside and warm up!"
Tu hurried out to greet her, unusually attentive as she patted the snow off Lu Zhaoruo's shoulder.
When Lu Zhaoruo went in, she also helped her father into the house.
A brazier was burning inside the house.
Lu Bohong added a lot of firewood and charcoal into it.
Tu glared at him, heartbroken; the amount she added alone could have burned for three days.
However, considering the winter clothes that Lu Zhaoruo brought back, I'll let it go.
She held the new clothes, looking them over from left to right, her eyes gleaming: "Is this for Father and Mother?"
Her fingers traced the fine stitches, then she suddenly paused. "This is the first time I've seen you bring something back since I married into the Shen family."
"Mother!"
Lu Bohong frowned.
Madam Tu retorted, "Did I say something wrong? Aning, are you telling the truth? You've been married into the Shen family for three years, is this the first time you've brought something back?"
Lu Zhaoruo recalled her past life. She had originally planned to remain unmarried for life. But on that day, Shen Rongzhi brought a bridal sedan chair. Although she was moved, she still hesitated. It was Tu Shi who urged her on from the side. In the end, she even accepted all the betrothal gifts.
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her eyes: "It is your daughter who is unfilial."
In her previous life, by the time she was old enough to fulfill her filial duties, her elder brother and father had both passed away, leaving only Tu Shi alive.
She bought her a house and maids, and she lived a very comfortable life.
However, while accepting the benefits he received, he also went around currying favor with his daughter-in-law...
Suddenly, Madam Tu broke into a wide smile and affectionately took Lu Zhaoruo's hand: "Ah Ning, now that you're in charge of the shop, making ten or eight winter clothes is a piece of cake, isn't it?"
She stroked the fabric of her new jacket, her eyes darting around, and said, "Your cousin is getting married in a few days. If I wear this, they'll be green with envy..."
The more he talked, the more excited he became, counting on his fingers: "You need to get me another new set for New Year's Eve, and then there are your uncles' and aunts' families, a total of nine sets..."
As she spoke, she suddenly raised her chin: "When the relatives see this respectable appearance, who won't praise me, Aunt Tu, for being so blessed? To have raised such a filial daughter and to have married into such a high-ranking family like the Shen family!"
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