Chapter 655 A Letter from Home on the Border
When Li San Niang returned to the Li family with a cart full of return gifts from the Guo family, Li's mother and the others were surprised by the sheer number of gifts.
"The families of officials are truly different from ours. Look at the return gifts they give—they're really something..."
Li Ersao stopped there, unable to find the right words to describe it.
Li's mother also felt it was a lot, but she was only checking what was included in the return gifts, and didn't blurt it out like Li's second sister-in-law.
After glancing at Li Ersao, Li Sanniang turned to her mother and said, "Mother, look, distribute these to everyone in the family. Some things are just left uneaten and wasted."
For the rest of the days, Li San Niang did not go out again, but stayed at home with Lu Zhu'er, playing Barbie dress-up games at home for several days.
Haha, it's just about dressing up Dewdrop at home, styling her hair, changing her clothes, and stuff like that.
Of course, it wasn't about making Lu Zhuer wear and change outfits one by one. Instead, it was about taking all the clothes out of the wardrobe and asking Lu Zhuer how she liked to wear them, so the two of them could mix and match them together for fun.
That day, after dinner, the whole family gathered in the main hall and side hall for a chat.
Li San Niang also asked Li Er Xiong, "Second brother, do you know where there are skilled painters?"
I'd like to ask an artist to paint a few portraits of Dewdrop. If possible, when Tiger Head returns, we could all stand together and have a family portrait painted. That would be wonderful.
"Then we'll have to go to Caizi Street to look for them. Most of the shops selling calligraphy and paintings on that street have artists."
Even if you have this idea, you should wait until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to talk about it.
After all, it's still the New Year period; who would be out looking for work?
Li San Niang nodded, indicating that she understood.
...
Although this year's Lantern Festival was not as grand as last year's, which coincided with Emperor Wu's birthday, the city of Chang'an was still more crowded than last year because of the Tang Dynasty's earlier victory, the opening of trade routes, allowing commoners to participate, and the rumors that the court intended to organize a fleet to travel along the Maritime Silk Road.
The Li family has been very happy these past few days because on the tenth day of the first lunar month, a messenger delivered a letter to the Li family.
This letter was naturally written by Li Dalang and Shijiu, who were far away at the border.
When Li Erxiong received the messenger, he even asked, "Brother Wang, why are you here to deliver a message at this time?"
"Quickly dismount and come inside for some hot tea to warm yourself up."
The messenger, still on horseback, took two letters from the satchel beside his leg and handed them to Li Erxiong. "Thank you for your kindness," the messenger said, patting the satchels on either side of his leg lightly. "I still have other things to do, so I won't go in."
Sigh, it's those people who followed the migration to the border. They went before the New Year, saw each other, and now that the New Year isn't even here yet, they're already thinking of sending a message to Chang'an.
The army was originally supposed to return to Chang'an to receive their rewards in the third month of spring. So General Shi made us messengers go through the trouble of making this trip ahead of time.
Alright, that's enough for now, gotta head to the next place.
After bowing slightly, Li Erxiong watched as the messenger pulled the reins and headed towards the crossroads.
When Li Erxiong returned home, Li's mother couldn't wait to open Li Dalang's letter.
Holding her eldest son, who was dressed warmly, Sister-in-law Li waited beside her mother. As a mother herself, she was naturally worried about her eldest son, who was thousands of miles away and whom she hadn't seen for more than half a year.
Of course, everyone who stayed at home wanted to read the letter. Even Mr. Li walked from the medicine cabinet into the main hall, waiting for Mrs. Li to finish reading so he could be the second to read it.
At that moment, Li San Niang was also reading a letter, but she was reading the letter written by Shijiu.
Li Erxiong and his brothers sat to the side, waiting to read Li Dalang's letter. They didn't miss the expression on Li's mother's face as she read it. As the relaxed look on Li's mother's face gradually turned into a frown, and her expression became more and more solemn, Li Erxiong and his brothers exchanged glances and sensed that something was wrong.
Li Erxiong wanted to ask Li Sanniang what exactly was written in the letter from the nineteenth year that could elicit such a reaction from Li's mother.
But when Li Erxiong went to see Li Sanniang, the expression on Li Sanniang's face was also solemn.
Now the whole family knew that something serious had happened.
Even the longest letter eventually comes to an end. After reading the letter, Li's mother handed it directly to Li's father, who was sitting at the head of the main hall, pretending that he was not in a hurry to read the letter.
Li San Niang then took out the second page of the letter that Shi Jiu had written to her and handed it to Li Da Sao. Li San Niang then took Xiao Liu Lang from Li Da Sao's arms.
After reading Li Dalang's letter, Li's father gave it to Li Erxiong.
Fifteen minutes later, the whole family, except for Li Da Xiong who had already gone to his duty, from Li's father and mother to Li Er Lang, had all read the letters from Li Da Lang and Shi Jiu.
In fact, in their letters, besides describing their days at the border and reassuring themselves that they were safe and healthy, Li Dalang's letter focused on the matter of being searched for by Hongniang and Guo Tuanlian. The second page of the letter written by Shijiu also touched on this matter.
Furthermore, both of them said that the army that had set out from Chang'an earlier should return in the middle or late March after the start of spring, and at that time, the two of them should also return to Chang'an with the army.
The purpose was to come to Chang'an to receive Emperor Wu's praise and rewards, to promote those who deserved promotions based on their military merits, and to give those who deserved money. Another very important point was to transport back the bodies of the soldiers stationed at the border and bury them in the mausoleums on the outskirts of the capital.
In the main hall, apart from the sounds of Lu Zhu'er, Xiao Si Lang, and Xiao Wu Lang playing in the side hall, there was no other noise at this moment.
Finally, it was Brother Li who spoke first: "It's getting late, let's get ready for dinner."
"Let's discuss what Tiger Head mentioned in his letter when my elder brother returns tonight."
After saying this, Li Erxiong looked up at his parents sitting at the head of the main hall. Li's mother didn't react at all; she lowered her head and was lost in memories of the past.
Therefore, Li's father raised his hand and waved it, meaning that he should listen to what his second brother Li said.
Thus, the people in the main hall dispersed, and Li Ersao hurried to the kitchen to prepare food with Wu Qiaolan and Baoya, who were already in the kitchen.
Li San Niang, carrying Xiao Liu Lang, led Li Da Sao to the side hall, placed the sleeping Xiao Liu Lang in a basket, and then, holding Li Da Sao's hand, the two sat down together on the low couch.
"Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law?"
Li San Niang called out twice before Li Da Sao finally came to her senses.
"Oh, oh, this, this, I really didn't expect to actually run into this."
Li San Niang truly knew nothing about the events surrounding her mother's marriage to her father before she married Li San Niang. Therefore, she asked in a low voice. Naturally, Li Da Sao wouldn't hide anything from Li San Niang. After glancing towards the main hall, she lowered her head and approached Li San Niang, whispering the whole story to her.
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