Chapter 67 His A'Zhu actually has another brother!
*
That spring was exceptionally warm, and the bamboo beside the house grew exceptionally well.
A gentle and handsome young man, as delicate as a bamboo shoot, stood at the doorway to welcome the new member of the family. He looked at the thin, pale, yet obedient little girl and could clearly sense the trepidation and ingratiation in her timid eyes.
That was their second meeting. They skipped the steps of strangers to becoming acquainted and went straight into family.
The wind is gentle, the sun is shining brightly, everything is fine.
“From now on, I am your brother,” he said.
A dazzling light suddenly shone in the little girl's timid and uneasy eyes. "Brother, my name is Azhu."
Azhu, Azhu!
Mu Hanshi had to use almost all her self-control to manage the overwhelming emotions surging within her and her body's instinctive reactions.
The colossal beast hidden deep within his usually mirror-like eyes has burst forth, unleashing wave after wave of towering waves that surge into the sky with the beast's tumultuous movements.
The person in bed was still in their dream, as if unwilling to wake up. Suddenly, their face scrunched up in grievance, and they sobbed with their eyes closed, tears sliding down their cheeks.
"Brother, I miss you so much. There are so many bad people here..."
Mu Hanshi had been silent for many years, as if his dead heart had been dug out and exposed to wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, enduring the lash of storms and lightning.
Such pain, it gnaws at your very bones and gnaws at your heart.
The person he had loved for so many years, the person he had cherished for two generations, was right under his nose, yet he didn't recognize her.
"A-Zhu, it's my fault, brother."
It's his fault!
He could no longer suppress his inner longing, and he swept the person up in his arms, holding them so tightly he wanted to melt them into his own bones. The longing of two lifetimes, the treasure lost and found again—how could anyone not be driven mad?
The ghostly light of the dungeon lamps shone on them, as if cheering for them.
He didn't know how much time had passed before the person in his arms let out a muffled groan, as if they had been holding their breath. Only then did he regain some of his rationality from his manic ecstasy.
The faint fragrance was gradually fading away, and the incense ball was almost completely burned out.
He had to release the person, carefully supporting their head and placing it back down, smoothing their disheveled hair, and then covering them with the blanket. Throughout this time, the insatiable gaze never left the person, like a greedy dragon guarding its treasure without ever leaving its side.
Time passed slowly, but he was completely unaware of it until the fifth watchman's drum sounded.
Suddenly he remembered something, looked at the broken red thread, and pulled out a new thread from under the red curtain, tying it to the original position of the sleeve arrow.
A person in a deep sleep must be dreaming of something bad; their delicate eyebrows are slightly furrowed and their long eyelashes tremble slightly, as if they are about to wake up.
He lingered, hesitated, and finally turned and left.
As dawn broke, the first light of day began to appear.
Shen Qinglu woke up from her dream, her dark pupils filled with confusion, momentarily disoriented. She lowered her eyelids, recalling the dream from the previous night.
At first, things were good. She dreamed of the person she most wanted to dream of, as if she had found a safe haven, where she could lean on them with peace of mind and pour out all the things she had experienced since their separation.
She was feeling wronged and crying when she looked up and found that the person she was holding had changed his face; he had become Mu Lao Jiu.
This is truly bizarre!
After a while, she slowly came to her senses and stretched lazily, not at all dignified. The red silk tugged, pulling up the red curtains.
She squinted at it, feeling that the position of the silk thread was slightly off. Suspicious, she lifted her sleeve and found that the red silk thread on the sleeve arrow was tied in the same place and in the same way she usually did.
I'm probably overthinking it.
Even though this place was as cozy as a boudoir, it was still a prison cell. Incense could hardly completely mask the original stench of decay. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she could still smell a fresh bamboo scent mixed with the fragrance of earth.
There was a handbell on the bedside table, left by Cheng Ying. She picked it up and shook it; the clear, melodious sound rang out in the cell, traveled through the long corridor, and carried far away.
After an incense stick had burned, Cheng Ying appeared carrying a food box.
A bowl of congee, two small dishes of side dishes, and two rather large steamed buns.
This amount of food should have been more than enough for an ordinary girl. However, Cheng Ying was unaware of Shen Qinglu's appetite, so he was clearly surprised when he saw that Shen Qinglu had finished all the food.
"Not only is Ali interesting, but she is also so unique."
Shen Qinglu didn't mince words and stated directly, "I'm not full."
Her frankness made Cheng Ying raise an eyebrow.
"Fortunately, I was prepared."
Just as he finished speaking, a guard came over carrying things and piled up snacks, dried fruits, melon seeds, and other dried fruits on the table.
Besides these, there were also a few popular storybooks, supposedly for her to pass the time when she was bored.
No wonder Gu Ruxu said that this place felt just like home; it really was true.
For a moment, she was in a daze.
Is she really in jail?
*
Outside the Shenwu Camp, someone was constantly looking around.
Yu Liuzhu was dressed in green, and her face, which was not made up, looked unwell and sickly. She looked very anxious and worried.
When the group of guards came out, she saw Mu Lin among them. Her expression showed a hint of hesitation, but she still called him to stop.
Although the two were engaged, they hadn't met many times. Later, due to the incident involving the real and fake heiress, the engagement was automatically dissolved, so Mu Lin didn't have a deep impression of her.
However, to her, they were husband and wife who had shared a bed and were once deeply in love during their honeymoon.
The thought of Mu Lin's subsequent neglect of her filled her with resentment.
"Young Master Mu, I heard that something happened to my mother and the others." To hide the hatred in her eyes, she lowered her head slightly. "I'm really worried. I wonder if you could make an exception and let me go in to see them?"
Mu Lin didn't know her character and only thought she was thinking of their past relationship.
After thinking it over, he personally led her into the Divine Martial Camp.
She followed behind Mu Lin, and the deeper she went, the deeper her resentment grew.
If it were her previous life, if she wanted to enter the Divine Martial Camp, she would have only needed to state her identity, and someone would have fawned over her and led her in, instead of waiting outside in the wind, constantly being stared at with strange looks.
All the misfortunes she suffered in both her lives, and the contempt she endured from others, were because she was not the true eldest daughter of the Yu family.
The thought of some people getting into trouble, and having nothing to do with them (whose surname is Yu), filled her with an indescribable pleasure. She couldn't wait to see Shen Linlang and Shen Qinglu looking haggard and disheveled.
Shen Linlang was not in the cell; the jailer said she had been taken away.
"Where is Ali? Where is she?" she asked anxiously. Those who didn't know the situation might think she was worried about Shen Qinglu, but they didn't know that she was hoping to hear news that Shen Qinglu had an accident.
"Come with me." Mu Lin led her further inside.
From night until now, Mu Lin has been busy with other matters arranged by his father and has not had any contact with the Shen family. He hasn't even had a chance to visit Yu Jingliang.
He agreed to bring people in because he had his own selfish motives.
The image of Shen Qinglu's gaze when she suddenly appeared before him last night involuntarily surfaced in his mind; the joy in her eyes was overflowing, like a flame burning with the passion of a young man.
Beyond the Heavenly Prison lies the Earthly Prison.
The Heavenly Prison, with its bed, table, and stool, was already an unbearable environment for Yu Liuzhu. When the Earthly Prison, with its tattered mats and tangled straw, came into view, she was filled with the ecstatic joy of her successful revenge.
She was excited and expectant, and the smile on her lips was almost impossible to suppress.
After many twists and turns, they suddenly found themselves in a bright and promising place.
Inside the prison cell, which resembled a woman's boudoir, a young girl dressed in plain clothes was eating snacks while reading a storybook. Her beautiful face and serene demeanor were like a pear blossom blooming in the darkest of places—so pure and so captivating.
When the girl turned around at the sound, her mere glance tinged the pure white with crimson, giving it an inexplicably alluring quality.
Cheng Ying, who was leaning against the outside of the cell, had been resting with her eyes closed when she suddenly opened them and looked at them with an unreadable expression.
"Ah Lin, why did you bring her here?"
Yu Liuzhu's anticipation and excitement vanished the moment she saw Shen Qinglu, as if doused with a bucket of cold water. Hearing Cheng Ying's lukewarm voice only made her feel colder.
She remembered Cheng Ying not only for her unforgettable effeminate appearance, but also for her attitude towards her.
Whether before or after she married into the Mu family, this distant relative of the Mu family was always lukewarm towards her. Occasionally, when she tried to ease the tension and strike up a conversation with him, his words were always ambiguous.
She was furious and complained to her father-in-law. Instead of supporting her, he told her to stay away from Cheng Ying.
How dare someone who established themselves in the Divine Martial Camp through the Mu family's connections be so ungrateful? Of course, she was furious and sought help from her uncle to vent her anger. But after her uncle comforted her, he said the same thing.
Now that the two people she dislikes are together, she finds them increasingly irritating to look at.
"I heard something happened to the Shen family, and I was really worried." She pretended to be sad. "Ali, I'm relieved to see that you're alright."
Shen Qinglu had already gotten up and was calmly looking at her through the cell bars.
She asked Mu Lin, "Young Master Mu, there are some things I'd like to say to Ali alone, is that alright?"
The moment Mu Lin saw Shen Qinglu, it was as if he could see nothing else. The fire in his heart seemed to be fueled by oil, and flames danced wildly in an instant.
He couldn't hear Yu Liuzhu's words at all, and only came to his senses when he was asked a second time.
Cheng Ying scoffed lightly, raised an eyebrow, and questioned Shen Qinglu with his eyes. After Shen Qinglu nodded slightly to him, he stepped back to a distance, casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking completely at ease.
“Ah Lin”.
Upon hearing the sound, Mu Lin followed, trying her best to remain calm, but her ears turned red.
From their vantage point, Shen Qinglu and Yu Liuzhu were both within their line of sight.
Facing them, Yu Liuzhu no longer looked worried. "Where did you send Grandmother?"
Pingyang.
"really?"
"If you don't believe me, why don't you go after them yourself?" Shen Qinglu said indifferently, as if to say, "Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Yu Liuzhu was skeptical, and even if she didn't believe it, she wouldn't actually go after him.
"Do you think that by getting rid of your grandmother, you can solidify your identity as the eldest daughter of the Yu family?"
"Didn't I tell you that my surname isn't Yu, it's Chen?"
"So you really changed your surname to Chen?" Yu Liuzhu said, her expression gradually changing, her eyes full of pleasure, and her words full of smugness. "You went to great lengths to drive us out and even changed your surname to Chen. You probably didn't expect this day to come, did you?"
Shen Qinglu remained completely calm, her tone indifferent, "Today is very nice, it should be sunny and bright, I like it very much, I like the surname Shen even more."
The prison windows were extremely high and extremely small. Sunlight streamed in through those tiny windows, reaching only a small area. Even so, in this gloomy environment, that little bit of light was incredibly precious.
No one will know how much she likes the surname Chen.
Being able to be reborn with the surname Shen is her good fortune.
Yu Liuzhu thought she was just being stubborn, and looked at her with a seemingly pitying but actually mocking gaze, "So what if you're good? You're just a frog in a well, ignorant of the immensity of the world, and even less aware of the current political situation in the court. The surname Shen may seem prestigious right now, but who knows how long that prestige will last?"
"You can enjoy your moment of glory for as long as you can; you don't need to worry about that." She leaned closer, a slight smile playing on her lips, her dark eyes gradually pushing away Yu Liuzhu's mockery. "I know you're jealous of me."
"Who's jealous..." Yu Liuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly shouted.
Cheng Ying immediately straightened up and was about to come over when a jailer stepped forward and said something to him.
Yu Liuzhu, realizing her lapse in composure, angrily lowered her voice, "How could I possibly be jealous of you? You think you've won? How laughable! What you have now is nothing more than what I once had. Why would I be jealous of you!"
"Saying one thing and meaning another."
"You...you're in jail now, let's see if you can still be so arrogant..."
“Miss Yu, I’m afraid I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you.” Cheng Ying came over at some point, took out a key and opened the cell door. “There are orders from above. An investigation has revealed that the matter of the Shen family colluding with the Demon King was maliciously reported. We are ordered to release the person immediately.”
Yu Liuzhu's ugly expression froze on the spot.
When she came to her senses, she turned around and saw Mu Lin.
Mu Lin frowned, his gaze towards her filled with suspicion and obvious coldness, just like in his previous life.
*
The general's carriage stopped outside the gate of the Divine Martial Camp. Gu Ruxu held Shen Linlang's hand and looked her over from left to right. Seeing that Shen Linlang was in good spirits and there was no dark circles under her eyes, Gu Ruxu finally felt relieved.
Shen Changting stood to the side, craning his neck to look inside.
On any other day, he would have dashed inside as fast as he could, as if he were in his own home. But he remembered his mother's instructions and, no matter how anxious he was, he didn't step inside even once.
When he saw Shen Qinglu coming out accompanied by Cheng Ying and Mu Lin, he exclaimed joyfully, "Sister, sister!"
He used to call her "Sister Ali," but now he has suddenly changed his address, which is naturally due to the instructions of the adults.
Gu Ruxu's original words were, "Since Ali's surname is Shen, then she is a girl of my Shen family, the younger sister of Feng'er, Yi'er, and Geng'er, and the older sister of Ting'er."
As the three approached, the jade beads that were following behind them were also revealed.
When Shen Linlang and Gu Ruxu saw her, their expressions were more complicated than each other's.
"When I heard that something had happened to you, I was really worried and thought I had to come and see you no matter what. Now that you are all safe and sound, I am relieved." Her words were pleasant and dignified.
Even within the inner quarters of aristocratic families, every household has its share of sordid affairs. What happens behind closed doors remains unknown to outsiders, but once outside, they always appear harmonious and peaceful.
Shen Linlang felt incredibly distressed, as if a huge boulder was pressing down on her, but she pretended to be oblivious on the surface. "You're so kind."
Gu Ruxu ignored everyone else and focused on looking at Shen Qinglu. After looking Shen Qinglu up and down, she saw that Shen Qinglu's complexion was rosy and she finally had a smile on her face, but she still asked with concern, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Speaking of this, Shen Qinglu was actually a little puzzled. She was a thoughtful person, and even if something happened on a normal day, let alone a change of environment, she would toss and turn all night and have trouble sleeping. But last night she fell asleep very quickly and slept soundly until dawn.
Little did she know that, due to human intervention, not only she, but everyone in the women's prison was sleeping soundly, including Shen Linlang.
“My aunt is right, this place feels just like home.”
Gu Ruxu had no doubts and glanced at Yu Liuzhu with a hidden look. "The message you asked Commander Cheng to pass on, your uncle and I understood immediately. You wanted to keep Qiu Lu because she still had a use for it."
Shen Qinglu nodded immediately, "I knew my aunt and uncle would understand me."
"You're just like my own child," Gu Ruxu said, her gaze filled with admiration and affection.
As Yu Liuzhu left, she couldn't help but glance at them out of the corner of her eye, and an uncontrollable feeling of jealousy arose within her.
Even though she had been the eldest daughter of the Yu family for sixteen years, she had always thought that her aunt loved her very much, but she had never been looked at with such eyes by Gu Ruxu.
As she passed by them, Shen Qinglu's dark eyes happened to look at her.
Extremely cold, extremely dark, like a bottomless black hole.
She was most afraid of those eyes, and subconsciously quickened her pace.
The moment Shen Qinglu withdrew her gaze, what was once cold and dark was replaced by warmth and clarity. She whispered something to Gu Ruxu, who nodded repeatedly in response.
"Fourth Brother!"
When Yu Jingliang heard Shen Changting call him that, he thought he had misheard.
Shen Changting chuckled, "My father said that from now on we'll be numbered according to the Shen family's side, so you'll be my fourth brother."
"Fine." Yu Jingliang punched him, seemingly with force, but in reality it was just a light touch.
The two cousins were playfully bickering and were very close.
When facing Yu Jingxian, Shen Changting still used the same address as before.
Shen Linlang was still unaware of Yu Jingxian's behavior after he was imprisoned, but Gu Ruxu had already heard about it, and her eyes were filled with immense disappointment when she looked at him.
Compared to Yu Jingliang, who seemed unaffected, he still appeared somewhat dazed and disoriented, looking very devastated, and his face was extremely haggard.
When Shen Linlang asked him a question, Yu Jingliang desperately tried to wink at Shen Qinglu.
The brother and sister walked to the side and whispered to each other, appearing extremely close.
Suddenly, Shen Qinglu looked up sharply and then glanced around.
"Ali, what's wrong?" Yu Jingliang asked her.
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
Just now, she clearly felt someone watching her from above, which made her very uncomfortable, as if she were prey being watched, yet there was also a strange sense of familiarity about her.
If someone was really watching her in the dark, she should have avoided them, so she moved closer to Yu Jingliang.
Yu Jingliang suddenly felt a chill on his scalp, shivered inexplicably, and muttered, "Why do I feel a little cold in this bright sunshine?"
If the brother and sister were to look up at this moment, they would surely see a tall, elegant figure standing like a lone pine tree on a snowy mountain on the watchtower of the Divine Martial Camp, as if he were not under the bright sunshine, but rather alone and forlorn in the heavy snow.
It was during the time of Mu Han.
So quiet, so silent, exuding an aura of despondency, yet filled with envy.
His A'Zhu...
She has another older brother!
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