Shang Shaoyan gritted his teeth and glared at Shang Yunlan: "You have hands and feet, can't you take care of yourself?"
Shang Yunlan's eyes widened: "I'm already a sickly person who's almost gone every day, how can you bear to make me go through all that trouble?"
Shang Shaoyan smiled coldly: "What a coincidence. I went to Shuzhou to invite the divine doctor from Qingcheng Mountain for you. It is said that he can cure any disease, let alone your congenital heart disease. I believe he will definitely cure you."
Shang Yunlan: "..."
He stared in shock at his "heartless" sister, speechless for a long time.
Seeing this, Shang Shaoyan snorted coldly: "I'm not going to talk about this with you. My aunt is coming to the manor today. She should arrive in a few quarters of an hour. Hurry up and get ready to come with me to greet her."
...
Cheng traveled from Hangzhou to Shengjing, which took about four days. The distance wasn't actually that far, but she felt unwell on the way, so she asked the driver to slow down.
Cheng's biggest regret in her life was that her elder sister married the Duke of Zhenguo with her stunning beauty and superb martial arts skills, becoming one of the most noble ladies in the entire Southern Chen Dynasty; while she herself married an ordinary scholar who had passed the imperial examination and wasted several years in the county town. Fortunately, her husband's official career had improved in recent years, and he had managed to become the prefect of Hangzhou.
After her elder sister and brother-in-law passed away, her regrets turned into grief. After all, the two sisters were born of the same mother and could not have been closer before they got married. But a few days ago, this grief turned into hatred and despair.
The inside story is why she insisted on visiting her two nephews and nieces.
Yan Xuening was already waiting at the gate of the Duke's mansion. Seeing that Madam Cheng was a little weak, she quickly went up to her and said, "Mother, are you tired? I have prepared a courtyard for you. Let me take you there to rest first. When you feel better, I will ask your cousins to come and see you."
However, Madam Cheng raised her hand with a serious expression: "No, I will go to see the Duke and the County Princess right now."
Yan Xuening frowned: "But you don't look very well..."
Madam Cheng shook her head and let the maid help her walk inside. As soon as she arrived at the main hall, she saw Shang Shaoyan and his sister walking side by side.
Upon seeing Madam Cheng, Shang Shaoyan quickly stepped forward and helped her sit down.
"Did Aunt have a safe journey?" Shang Shaoyan asked with concern. "Spring is almost here, but the weather isn't getting any warmer. Bai Shuang, get Madam a hot water bottle."
Madam Cheng smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen An'an. She's changed quite a bit."
Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow, poured her a cup of tea, and said slowly, "Auntie also said it's been a long time since we last met. If I remember correctly, the last time I saw Auntie was six years ago."
After exchanging a few more words with Shang Shaoyan, Madam Cheng looked at Yan Xuening with affection and said, "Ning'er, go back to your courtyard and rest. I'll come to find you in a little while."
Although Yan Xuening was usually a bit dim-witted, she was unusually clever at this moment, knowing that she couldn't listen to what her mother was about to say. Fortunately, she was a filial person, and since the matter of "becoming a concubine" had happened, she hadn't dared to offend Shang Shaoyan, so she obediently left.
Madam Cheng looked at Shang Shaoyan—she knew that her niece had changed a lot in recent years. From the letters Shang Shaoyan had written to her, it was clear that Shang Shaoyan had grown into a woman with means and strategy. There was no need to hide this from her.
Then, Cheng took out a somewhat crumpled letter from his sleeve, with some brown stains on it, which looked like dried blood.
"This is a letter that came from the Northwest seven days ago." Tears welled up in Madam Cheng's eyes. "Open it and take a look."
After saying that, she handed the letter to Shang Yunlan, but Shang Yunlan did not open it and instead handed it to Shang Shaoyan.
Cheng frowned, seemingly not quite understanding.
Shang Yunlan explained with a wry smile, "To be honest, Aunt, my health has been declining in recent years. From now on, An'an will have to support the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion..."
Everyone understood what was left unsaid, and Madam Cheng choked up as she said, "My poor son..."
Shang Shaoyan didn't hear what was said after that.
She stared intently at the letter, struggling to suppress the trembling in her hands, reading the two pages over and over again, until her eyes reddened.
When Shang Shaoyan heard Cheng say that the letter came from the Northwest, she had a subtle premonition. But when she finished reading the letter, her premonition was confirmed, and she almost fainted.
She handed the letter to Shang Yunlan as calmly as possible, then closed her eyes briefly, two lines of tears streaming down her face: "Aunt, have you shown this letter to anyone else?"
Madam Cheng shook her head: "No, I didn't even tell your uncle."
Shang Shaoyan clenched his fist: "Where is the messenger?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng's eyes filled with pity: "After delivering the letter, he left. The next day, I found him in a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of Hangzhou... He had been dead for some time."
She paused for a moment, then said, "I called a doctor to come and see, and he said it was suicide."
Shang Shaoyan gritted his teeth and then asked, "Which family does that doctor belong to?"
Cheng knew in her heart that this matter had to be investigated thoroughly, so she answered very cooperatively: "I haven't had time to investigate in detail yet, but I brought the doctor to Shengjing on the pretext of feeling unwell."
As the two were talking, Shang Yunlan finished reading the letter and nodded, saying, "Later, settle him in the manor, and I will have someone investigate his background."
The three exchanged a few more words and then went back to their rooms.
...
Shocked by the letter, Shang Shaoyan's head began to throb, and he quickly lay down to take a short rest.
Before she transmigrated, the original owner of this body was not actually dead. She seemed to have spoken to Shang Shaoyan, but Shang Shaoyan didn't remember anything about it, and had no memory of the original owner at all.
The same applies to Shang Yunlan.
Shang Shaoyan thought he would have trouble sleeping because he was thinking about the letter, but he didn't expect to fall asleep so quickly.
In the dream, the person who looked exactly like her was wearing a peach-pink dress, with arrogant and slightly fierce eyes. When she saw Shang Shaoyan, she smiled and said, "You've come."
Shang Shaoyan knew he was dreaming. The feeling was mysterious, as if there was something between them that he wanted to grasp but couldn't.
“My brother and I are entrusting our bodies to you willingly.” The man smiled. “The Immortal Lord of Fate said that the fates of our two pairs of siblings have been reversed, and it is time to switch them back. However… my brother and I are thinking of our parents who died unjustly, so we brought forward this return to our rightful place.”
As she spoke, she sighed, a hint of melancholy in her voice: "My brother and I have been spoiled rotten. There's nothing we can do about it. We can only rely on you!"
After saying that, she looked intently at Shang Shaoyan, expecting her to say something.
Shang Shaoyan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Since you've been spoiled rotten, haven't you squandered the business empire my brother built?"
Original owner: "..."
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