0119 The Sorrowful Lord (Part Four)
When Shu Fu arrived at Longzhengfang, Zhan Yaoguang and the others had not yet arrived.
Zhan Qingdao said he was not good with words, and told her not to be shy, then turned and went into his room to rest.
Zhan Yinyuan stayed alone in the main room, flitting around her like a servant. The young man found her a chair and a stool, poured her drinks, and finally, fearing she would be bored, he ran to the room to find his treasured album of paintings for her to look at.
Seeing that he was so busy he barely had time to rest, Shu Fu couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, stop running around. I'm not thirsty, and I don't want to look at any picture books. If you have nothing to do, how about we go to the yard and bask in the sun together?"
Zhan Yinyuan blushed and nodded hesitantly.
The two of them carried the bench outside and placed it against the wall.
It's only 9 AM now, and the sun is slanting across the sky, casting a warm, azure shadow on the ground, which feels both warm and dry on the skin.
Shufu sat on the stool, her skirt tucked in, and stretched her hands out from under the short eaves, palms outstretched in the sunlight, intently drawing in warmth.
Zhan Yinyuan hesitated for a while before finally sitting down at the other end of the bench.
It wasn't that he was shy or timid; it was simply because benches are meant to be sat on at opposite ends. Otherwise, if two people sat together, their weight would be concentrated on one side, and they would probably fall over immediately.
"Sister, you are so beautiful." Zhan Yinyuan said shyly for a while, her face flushed.
Shu Fu glanced at him, unsure whether he was genuinely praising her or just trying to lower her guard. But since many people had praised her beauty, she wasn't embarrassed anymore. So she smiled slightly and said softly, "Thank you, young master. You are very spirited and adorable."
Zhan Yinyuan became interested and deliberately asked, "How does that compare to my thirteenth brother?"
Shu Fu knew that he was deliberately mentioning Zhan Yaoguang in front of her, wanting to see her blush, but she refused to do as he wished. Instead, she was completely at ease and sincerely said, "Your thirteenth brother is handsome."
The young man deflated immediately, turned half his body away, leaving her with only his angry back view.
Shu Fu was too lazy to coax him. Seeing him turn away in a huff and concentrate on sunbathing again, she noticed he was sulking.
After a long while, Zhan Yinyuan finally turned around slowly and said, "Alright, I forgive you. Everyone says beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and since Thirteenth Brother is your lover, you naturally favor him. When I find a girl who falls in love with me at first sight, I'll make sure Thirteenth Brother hears from her that 'Zhan Fifteenth is more handsome than Zhan Thirteenth.' At that time, I will..."
"Then what?" Shufu asked curiously.
“I will be a good and obedient husband to her, doing all the washing, sweeping, planting mulberry trees, pounding grain, and even taking pulses and asking questions!” The young man blushed again and counted them off on his fingers.
Shu Fu listened to his eloquent words and felt that they sounded familiar. Zhan Yaoguang seemed to have said something similar, so she asked, "To be a good husband?"
“Yes,” Zhan Yinyuan looked at her strangely, then said matter-of-factly, “The elder sisters in the clan have to raise Gu to protect the clan, which is already very hard work. We young men should naturally take it easy and not cause them any trouble. Isn’t it the same everywhere else?”
“Of course, I’m not telling you this to brag,” Zhan Yinyuan scratched behind his ear. “I’m saying this so that you can cherish my thirteenth brother more.”
"Um?"
Shu Fu was puzzled by this explanation, blinked her eyes, and looked at him inquiringly.
Zhan Yinyuan felt a lump in his throat, and tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.
Shu Fu was startled and quickly reached into her sleeve, pulled out a handkerchief, and held it to his eyes.
Zhan Yinyuan took the handkerchief, clutched it in his hand without daring to wipe it, and continued, "Every elder sister and brother in the clan has the love of their parents, except for my thirteenth brother..."
She paused in her action of withdrawing her hand, and asked softly, "What about his parents?"
"They all don't want him anymore!" Zhan Yinyuan couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears, sobbing as he lay on Shu Fu's lap.
His eyes were blurry with tears as he spoke to her in murmurs:
“My thirteenth brother’s father is the youngest child of our clan chief’s grandmother. According to my father, when he was nineteen, he rescued a woman who was injured and unconscious in a mountain stream.”
"He was very fond of that woman. After bringing her back, he stopped going to any of the clan's entertainment venues and spent his days carefully guarding her side."
“My mother and father used to tease him, saying that once the woman woke up, he would abandon his people, pack his bedding, and go home with her.”
"But who knew that although the woman woke up later, she forgot her own name, so the clan chief kept her in the village."
"A year later, he finally became the wife's husband as he wished, and a year after that, they had their thirteenth brother."
"And then what?"
Shu Fu listened to the lecture with a frown, secretly wondering what Zhan Yinyuan meant by saying "they don't want him anymore".
If this couple truly passed away in their prime, leaving Zhan Yaoguang alone, then he…
Shu Fu felt a slight tightness and bitterness in her throat.
Zhan Yinyuan sniffed: "Then, when my thirteenth brother was seven years old, his mother suddenly remembered the past. She said that she was originally the daughter of a general who was stationed in the capital. She left home at a young age to travel around and compile a book called 'The Records of the Four Directions' to make up for the shortcomings of her predecessors. She had been delayed in Miao territory for too long these past few years and could not continue like this. So she left without looking back."
Shu Fu felt a sense of bewilderment, unable to articulate her feelings. She felt a mixture of admiration for Zhan Yaoguang's mother and wondered what it must have felt like for him to witness his own mother's passing when he was seven years old.
"But in my opinion, the worst one is Thirteenth Brother's father!" Zhan Yinyuan said indignantly, his voice rising suddenly. "In his eyes, Thirteenth Brother is not as important as a single hair on Aunt's head. When he learned that Aunt had left, he blamed Thirteenth Brother for not being able to keep Mother, abandoned Thirteenth Brother to the clan chief and went after her. It has been almost eleven years now, and he has not come back to see Thirteenth Brother even once!"
"And his grandmother? She is your clan chief, your clan chief Granny."
Shu Fu recalled that Zhan Yaoguang had mentioned to her many times that he had a grandmother, and thought that this person must be of great significance to him, so she asked a few more questions.
"Grandma Clan Chief...Grandma Clan Chief naturally loves Thirteenth Brother. She took him under her wing and even taught him Gu magic, which is an exception..."
Shufu let out a sigh of relief, her tense nerves finally relaxing a little.
“However,” Zhan Yinyuan changed the subject, “even so, in the end, only Sister Yuheng is the person that the clan chief cares about the most.”
"When my thirteenth brother was fourteen, my sister Yuheng turned twenty. On her birthday, the clan elder, Granny, personally took her to the clan's mysterious place to pray to the ancestors and gods. She also selected the Heart-Protecting Gu from the Insect Cave, which would be raised by the next clan elder."
"Thirteenth Brother is very clever and insightful. After this incident, he guessed that Sister Yuheng was the person that the clan chief valued the most. So gradually, he also became less close to the clan chief."
Zhan Yinyuan frowned deeply: "Thirteenth Brother used to be indifferent to everything, always careless. So many sisters liked him, but he didn't like any of them, but—"
The young man raised his eyes, his gaze bright and clear as he looked at Shufu: "Thirteenth Brother likes you, he likes you very much, Sister. I grew up with Thirteenth Brother, Sister, believe me, I won't lie to you—"
“You like him too, don’t you? Thirteenth Brother’s parents don’t care about him, and Grandmother cares more about others. If even the woman he likes doesn’t like him that much, then he’s too pitiful…”
Seeing that Shu Fu did not respond for a long time, the hopeful light in Zhan Yinyuan's eyes dimmed slightly. After a while, he stammered, "My thirteenth brother is very understanding of his mother. In fact, when my aunt wanted to leave, she asked my thirteenth brother if he was willing to let her go. It was my thirteenth brother who let her go..."
"So, if one day you tell your thirteenth brother that you no longer like him and want to leave him, he will not stop you, but he will be heartbroken and almost die inside."
Zhan Yinyuan exhaled and looked sincerely at Shu Fu:
"Although you are very beautiful, sister, and I like you very much, my thirteenth brother is the one I grew up with, and I hope he can be happy and joyful."
"My thirteenth brother is really, really good. Can you continue to like him from now on?"
Shu Fu leaned against the wall, her shoes peeking out from under her skirt, casually grinding the fallen flowers on the ground.
Clouds drifted across the azure sky, and as the wind swept by, they scattered a few specks of gold under the eaves.
She suddenly stood up, standing under the bright sun.
Zhan Yinyuan lost his balance and fell to the ground with a cry of "Ouch!" He looked up blankly at Shu Fu, only to hear her soften her tone and say earnestly:
“I know he’s very, very good, but I’m very good too.”
She paused for a moment, then finally came to a conclusion: "We will all be very, very good."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com