Chapter 379 My brother finally got it!
As the sweltering summer gradually passed, the wind began to carry the bitter scent of locust leaves.
The group traveled south, passing through the water towns of Jiangnan, through the alleys with white walls and black tiles in southern Anhui, and across the docks where the tides lapped against the shore.
Having seen all kinds of beautiful mountains and rivers, tasted countless delicacies and snacks, and experienced the local customs and traditions, the coolness in the wind gradually intensified.
After the Frost's Descent, the group finally arrived safely in Xiyun County.
Xiyun County is not very large. Once you arrive in Xiyun County, you are not far from the southwestern border.
Following the official road, stopping and starting along the way, it will take about half a month to reach the southwestern border.
Everything was normal at first, but after traveling for two days, the group realized that there was something unusual about Xiyun County.
As the sun was setting, the group had just arrived at an inn in a small town to rest. After having dinner, Sheng Sheng couldn't wait to open the letter she had just received and begin reading it.
Sheng Sheng and Li Manyan had agreed to keep in touch, and Li Manyan lived up to her expectations, always trying to tell her about recent events in the capital in her letters.
Sometimes he would share with her that Xie Yunqi and Lu Chi had recently gone from being best friends to bitter enemies again, and sometimes he would tell her that Xie Yunchuan was doing well.
What worries Sheng Sheng the most is that Li Manyan said in her letter that she doesn't know when it started, but Xie Yunjia and Lu Yixue have become close.
That doesn't seem quite right. Judging from Li Manyan's letter, it seems that the two became friends simply because one played the piano and the other played the xiao (vertical flute), and they became friends because of music.
Sheng Sheng laughed as she read the letter, while the little ones played a game of chasing each other around the room.
The stone had long since grown from a small lump to a large one, its length now matching Xie Yun's height.
He still felt like a baby drinking milk, and when playing with the little fox, he often forgot about his own length and weight.
If it weren't for the little fox's agility, it would have been crushed to death by the rocks several times over.
Zijuan came over and brought her a candle.
"Miss, what did Miss Li say in her letter this time? You seemed so happy!"
"hey-hey."
Sheng Sheng excitedly shared with her, "Sister Yan Yan asked me in her letter what it meant when my brother gave her a comb, and she also asked if I wanted to give her a gift in return!"
"ah?!"
Zijuan was shocked. "A comb? What...what does this mean? Could it be that the Second Prince...!"
The word "梳" (shū) is a homophone for "守" (shǒu), which means "to stay together for life".
When a man gives a woman a comb, the meaning is self-evident.
Sheng Sheng was incredibly grateful that she had listened to Xie Yunchuan's advice and learned the basics of the characters early on; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to personally understand the surprise Li Manyan had conveyed to her through the letter.
Her voice was filled with undisguised joy and excitement: "Brother has finally come to his senses, but it's a pity we're not in the capital and can't know everything. I really don't know what happened to make this reserved guy like you act so directly."
By giving Li Manyan a comb, Xie Yunchuan was essentially expressing his feelings to her openly and honestly.
and……
Li Manyan's attitude is probably self-evident.
Given Li Manyan's personality, if she doesn't like something, there are many ways to resolve it.
Even if there were other factors that made it difficult to resolve the issue, it would never have been like this, where someone shyly asks in a letter what it means and whether they should return the favor.
Even a well-educated and sensible young lady can panic when it comes to matters of the heart.
As a staunch protector of his brother's love, Sheng Sheng expressed his great satisfaction.
"Yes, these two are in love, that's more important than anything else." Sheng Sheng laughed heartily. "Sheng Sheng is very satisfied with this sister-in-law!"
Zijuan smiled and said, "Now Miss can rest assured. The unspoken understanding between Miss Li and the Second Prince has finally been revealed."
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, don't worry. Maybe by the time we get back to Beijing, they'll already be engaged!"
Sheng Sheng happily wrote a reply to Li Manyan, telling Zijuan to keep it safe and mail it first thing the next morning.
Zijuan responded immediately and took the letter to put it in an envelope.
Sheng Sheng was in a great mood, humming a little tune as she put Li Manyan's letter back into the envelope, intending to put it away carefully like the previous letters.
I picked up the envelope, and my movements faltered. I hadn't noticed before because I was in such a hurry to read the letter, but now I felt the weight inside the envelope.
"Huh?"
Sheng Sheng peered into the envelope with a puzzled look, and found a letter that had been folded several times, and a small note about the size of a finger inside.
The note still bore Li Manyan's handwriting, which read: "Although Young Master Pei trusts me, I folded Young Master Pei's letter several times to show that I really wouldn't secretly read it."
At the end of the sentence, there is a small smiley face.
Sheng Sheng exclaimed with delight, "It's a letter from Brother Pei Ji!"
Sheng Sheng eagerly took out the letter that had been folded several times and carefully unfolded it.
The familiar handwriting appeared, and Sheng Sheng could almost instantly see through the characters how Pei Ji had written this letter, stroke by stroke.
Oh my god, Pei Ji wrote her a letter!
Did Sister Yan Yan go to see him on her own?
Did Pei Ji take the initiative to find Sister Yan Yan?
It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, none of this matters!
Sheng Sheng happily began to read the letter, which was very short, containing only a few sentences.
The first sentence was to tell her that the pear tree planted in Jingyue Pavilion had grown a little bit more; the second sentence was to say that he was doing well; and the third sentence was to ask if Shengsheng was having fun outside.
The last sentence is a line of poetry.
A bare plum branch, thin and withered, lies broken; I idly listen to the slow passage of the water clock.
Sheng Sheng looked completely bewildered. What did this mean?
Even as she lay in bed, half asleep, she still couldn't figure it out.
A withered plum branch lies broken in vain, as I idly listen to the slow passage of the water clock...
Is it saying that winter is coming soon, and we can see plum blossoms?
...
The next morning, after Zijuan mailed the letter, the group continued their journey to the southwestern border.
A month ago, the group heard that a dragon had suddenly struck the westernmost part of Xiyun County, causing severe damage to a small town there and killing many people.
Because Xiyun County is relatively arid year-round, its grain harvest costs are the lowest in Yu State.
Now that the houses have collapsed again, many people in that small town have fled north with their families.
Now, as Sheng Sheng and his party travel along the official road, they can see many people with their families in tow, carrying baskets and grain.
Strangely enough, the people of that small town are heading north, and the road they are taking now is one they will never pass through.
Moreover, the earthworm outbreak happened a month ago, so why are people only starting to flee now?
Sheng Sheng had a bad feeling. After traveling for two more days and encountering more and more people going in the opposite direction, he finally couldn't help but find an opportunity to stop someone and ask them.
Ta Ying gave the man some loose silver coins and asked him, "Where are all these people going?"
The man accepted the silver with great delight and replied, "Don't you know? I heard there's going to be a war on the southwestern border soon, and everyone's rushing to escape!"
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