AWB Chapter 70 Everyone returns to their own places
Chapter 70 Everyone returns to their own places
Sheng Yunjiao's eyes lit up with excitement. She tugged at Lu Yangyang, and the two stopped in their tracks.
"Shh," Sheng Yunjiao turned her head and gestured for Lu Yangyang to be quiet, then pulled her aside and walked away instead of going straight inside.
The two of them were not hiding at all.
But no one inside the house noticed them at that moment.
Sheng Junyao pulled Sheng Yunzhu away, frowned, and looked her over. The lines between his brows deepened.
The longing that Sheng Yunzhu had prepared was suddenly choked up by this gaze, leaving her speechless and unable to express it. Her face turned slightly red, and her eyes filled with tears, making her look even more pitiful.
However, Sheng Junyao, who had always been Sheng Yunzhu's serious, rigid, and fair older brother since childhood, clearly did not buy into it at all.
Sheng Junyao immediately scolded, "You're a grown woman now. How can you be so impulsive and cry like this? Your mother used to praise you for being gentle, generous, smart, and sensible. How have you become like this in just a few years?"
Sheng Junyao's face was very ugly. Although he had just learned that the younger sister he had doted on since childhood was not his biological sister, the affection he had for her since childhood was genuine.
He genuinely couldn't understand how a perfectly normal girl could have become so strange.
She's a thirteen-year-old girl, what's with her crying and throwing herself into his arms? What kind of behavior is that?
“Big brother,” Sheng Yunzhu probably never expected her brother to react this way, but she reacted quickly, her eyes red as she looked up timidly at Sheng Junyao: “Big brother hasn’t been home for years, and Zhuzhu really missed you so much. I worried about you every day. Now that you’re back, Zhuzhu is so happy…”
His expression was full of deep affection, his eyes brimming with admiration and longing.
Seeing this, Old Madam Li couldn't help but shed tears: "Yao'er, your sister is right. You've been gone for five years and only come back once. We've been worried about you day and night."
Sheng Junyao turned around and respectfully bowed to Madam Li, saying, "It is your unfilial son who has caused Grandmother worry."
Outside the door, Sheng Yunjiao pouted and whispered in Lu Yangyang's ear: "See? She always puts on such an act, as if she's the only one in the family who's full of emotion. She's just faking her death."
Sheng Yunjiao pulled Lu Yangyang into the room. Hearing the noise, Sheng Junyao turned around and immediately saw the little girl next to Sheng Yunjiao.
She was very small and thin, and her skin was much darker than that of the girls in the capital, making her look more like a girl from the frontier. She wore an exquisite mask on her face, which made her look very lively, mysterious, and full of vitality.
When Sheng Yunjiao saw Sheng Junyao looking over, she quickly called out, "Big Brother."
Sheng Junyao nodded at her.
Then his gaze fell on Lu Yangyang, "You're Yangyang?"
Lu Yangyang nodded.
Sheng Junyao stood up straight and formally introduced himself to Lu Yangyang, "I am Sheng Junyao, your older brother."
Sheng Junyao looks more like Lan Shi, but unlike Lan Shi, he is not delicate and gentle. Instead, because he has been on the frontier for a long time, he appears more resolute and calm, making him look much more mature than his actual age.
She's not the same type as Sheng Junyi, that flower fox.
He was also very tall, thin but not weak, a very tall and handsome young man.
Lu Yangyang didn't have a good impression of the Sheng family, but this Sheng Junyao seemed much more pleasing to the eye. At least he wasn't like Sheng Junye, who would block her at the gate and cause trouble, nor like Sheng Junyi, who would swagger into her yard in the middle of the night to show off his power.
At least this one seems to be normal for now.
Lu Yangyang didn't know how to address him, so after thinking for a moment, she nodded in greeting: "Young Master."
Sheng Junyao frowned slightly.
He waved to Lu Yangyang.
Lu Yangyang didn't understand why, but she still went over.
When she walked to Sheng Junyao's side, Sheng Junyao reached out and gently patted her shoulder, "These years, I've made you suffer and wronged."
Lu Yangyang blinked, wondering to herself, "What does this mean?"
She didn't understand and didn't respond.
Sheng Junyao pulled her aside, his gaze sweeping around the room before settling on the Duke of Sheng, who sat at the head of the table. He asked, "Father, what are your plans for Yangyang's return to the Duke's mansion?"
Duke Sheng's eyelids twitched, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
He almost forgot that he, the eldest son, was no pushover.
“Yao’er, you’ve returned weary from your journey. We can discuss these matters later. Now that you’ve met your mother and we’ve met you, you should go back to your courtyard and rest. We’ll visit your grandmother’s courtyard together tomorrow to pay our respects,” said the Duke of Sheng.
Madam Li nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, Yao'er, your father is right. You must be exhausted from your journey back. Go and rest. Grandmother will have someone prepare a midnight snack for you. Poor thing, you probably haven't eaten or slept well on the way."
I feel so sorry for her.
The others chimed in, "Yes, brother, you should go back and rest early."
Only Madam Lan, whether due to exhaustion or something else, simply leaned back in her chair, smiling at her son without saying a word.
Duke Sheng reminded her, "Madam, Yao'er has had a long journey. Let him go back and rest early."
Lady Lan was pale and weak, but surprisingly her eyes were bright today. She smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry, my husband? I was thinking of talking about it tomorrow, but since you and your family are still concerned about Yao'er and have come all this way, let's talk about it today."
"Madam, what are you trying to say?" Duke Sheng frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
He used to understand his wife quite well, but ever since Lu Yangyang came back, Lan Shi has become a stranger in his eyes, and he can't figure out what she's thinking at times.
"No rush, let's talk about the first thing first." Madam Lan looked at Sheng Junyao and said, "Your father agrees to let Yangyang stay in the Duke's mansion as a cousin, and not be included in the Sheng family genealogy."
Duke Sheng's face darkened instantly.
It's one thing for Lan to argue with him in private, but now, in front of her son and with so many people in the room, what is she going to do?
A rare hint of impatience flickered in his eyes.
From the moment Lu Yangyang returned to the manor, there was never a peaceful day in this household.
"Enough!" Duke Sheng shouted, addressing the others, "It's getting late, and the lady must be tired. Let's all go back."
With the Duke of Sheng speaking, his concubines and the people from his second wife naturally could not stay any longer.
Before they could even get up to take their leave, Sheng Junyao spoke in a deep voice: "Father, I think this arrangement is inappropriate. Now that the truth has been found out, it was the wicked servant who deliberately switched Yangyang and Yunzhu, not by accident. Now that they should each return to their rightful place, since Yangyang has been brought back, Yunzhu should be sent away and resettled. If word gets out that we are mixing up the bloodlines, how will people view our Sheng family?"
His voice brought an instant of silence to the room, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Yao'er! What are you saying? Zhuzhu is your sister. You watched her grow up since she was a child. How can you bear to let her go out and suffer?" Old Madam Li looked at her proud grandson in disbelief, unable to believe that these words came from his mouth.
“Grandmother, you are mistaken. The truth has been revealed. The real daughter of the Duke’s mansion is Yangyang, and my sister is also Yangyang, not Yunzhu. That’s the first point. Secondly, when I said I would arrange for her to be placed elsewhere, I never said I would send her back to the countryside. How can that be considered suffering? If this is suffering, then how much suffering did Yangyang endure growing up alone in the countryside for more than ten years?”