Happy Spring Every Year

Lu Yunyao's face turned pale after being scolded by Aunt Zhou. She was now filled with regret and guilt. How could she dare to hide anything? She immediately told everything that had happened in the past few days.

It turned out that she had long been in love with Shen Jiaheng.

At first, Shen Jiaheng had come to General Zhaoyong's mansion several times with Shen Jiasui and Gu Xizhi.

The two had talked at that time. She felt that the young master of the Shen family was particularly handsome, gentle and polite in his dealings with others.

But she knew the difference in status between her and Shen Jiaheng, and never had any other thoughts. She always kept this admiration in her heart and never told anyone.

But a few days ago, she suddenly received a letter secretly delivered to her by a servant.

She knew the situation of her aunt and brother in the mansion, so she didn't dare to hold them back and handed the letter to her aunt immediately.

But when I turned it over, I found that the signature was Shen Jiaheng.

Her heart was beating fast, and after much thought, she couldn't help but secretly open the letter and read it. The content of the letter made her heart flutter.

It turned out that Shen Jiaheng had been interested in her for a long time, and he had always been looking forward to coming to the Lu Mansion with Miss Shen to take a closer look at her.

But now Miss Shen and his eldest brother have fallen out, and he no longer has any reason to come. Unable to suppress his longing for her, he tried every possible means to send her a message.

Lu Yunyao was naturally not stupid enough to believe it easily, but the letter mentioned one thing that only she and Shen Jiaheng knew.

Last year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Shen siblings and Gu Xizhi came to the mansion to play and enjoy the moon, and she and her brother were also invited.

The moonlight was beautiful that night. She was lighting lanterns by the lake, but she was so engrossed in it that she almost fell into the lake.

Shen Jiaheng happened to pass by at that time and almost helped her.

After she stood firmly, Shen Jiaheng let go of her hand, and they did not do anything inappropriate.

But that night with the bright moon, fresh breeze and lanterns by the lake, it was hard for her not to be moved, and she remembered that scene deeply.

At that time, she was worried that others would misunderstand them because they didn't know the whole situation, so she looked around but didn't see anyone else.

Therefore, when the letter specifically mentioned this matter, her heart was pounding, but she could not hide her joy. She tossed and turned all night, and finally mustered up the courage to reply to the letter and waited there the next day.

Unexpectedly, the messenger actually came...

"Auntie, Yao'er was wrong, but Yao'er never wrote anything explicit in the letter."

"Yao'er hasn't forgotten Auntie's teachings. She just expressed her gratitude to Young Master Shen and asked about her brother's situation in the Imperial College."

Lu Yunyao raised her head, tears rolling down her cheeks, her nose red from crying, and she was filled with fear.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou shook her head, her tone still stern.

"But Yao'er, you still have something on your mind, otherwise you wouldn't have replied to this letter, let alone asked your brother to send the knee-length shirt to Young Master Shen."

Lu Yunyao's eyelashes trembled when she heard this, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face. Then, countless bitterness surged in her heart, and she admitted her mistake again in a trembling voice:

"Auntie, Yao'er shouldn't be so arrogant, shouldn't be in love with the young master of the Shen family, and shouldn't have extravagant hopes, thinking that—"

"Yao'er!"

Aunt Zhou couldn't bear to listen any longer, so she immediately bent down and hugged Lu Yunyao in her arms with heartache.

Her Yao'er understood everything, but it was difficult for a girl to hide her thoughts. Moreover, there were thieves at work, setting up traps to lure her at every step, causing her to become tempted and have thoughts.

"Yao'er, my aunt's Yao'er..."

Aunt Zhou felt extremely guilty.

Family background is a fact in front of us. As the legitimate son of General Dingguo, Shen Jiaheng naturally cannot marry Yaoer.

What's more, she was reluctant to let Yao'er become someone else's concubine like her.

It's impossible for the two of them...

But Yao'er is really simple-minded, even almost stupid.

Did Shen Jiaheng send someone to deliver a letter to her? Did he also have connections with General Zhaoyong's mansion? Did he still have dealings with her?

There were clearly flaws in this, but Yao'er didn't realize it at all.

Aunt Zhou felt both pity and anger in her heart. She was certain that this was all a conspiracy. The target was not just Yao'er, but her, Sheng'er, and even the Shen family was involved.

Lu Yunyao buried her head in Aunt Zhou's shoulder and cried uncontrollably.

She knew she was wrong, and now she was not worried about herself, but her aunt and her brother.

Once the matter is exposed, I am afraid that my aunt will be implicated by her, and even my brother... maybe he won't even be able to go to the Imperial College.

Thinking of this, Lu Yunyao cried even harder. She raised her head and sobbed, "Auntie, what should I do? Have I harmed you and my brother?"

Aunt Zhou sighed deeply, hugged Lu Yunyao in her arms, and said softly:

"Don't be afraid, Yao'er. Things are not at their worst yet. Auntie just wants you to remember that from now on, you must be more cautious and think twice before you act."

In the past, she only wanted to protect Yao'er, but now she realized that she could not protect Yao'er forever. Only when Yao'er knew how to protect herself could she feel at ease.

Some time ago, she received a reminder from Shen Jiansui that the lady and Gu Xizhi were together.

Combined with what Yao'er said today, it is obvious that this was the idea that Gu Xizhi gave to the lady, and the scene between Yao'er and Young Master Shen during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year must have been seen by her.

Gu Xizhi guessed Yao'er's thoughts and came up with this plan in order to please Mrs. Lu.

Furthermore, she and Lu Yunzheng were in contact through letters, so it was not surprising that she would resort to such despicable means.

This matter had been planned for nearly a month. Thanks to Yao'er for keeping her composure and not saying anything nonsense in the letter, the lady was unable to find the opportunity to attack.

But a few days ago, I heard that the general was impeached because of Lu Yunzheng's regretful engagement, and his wife was scolded by the general. I'm afraid she can't wait any longer...

Aunt Zhou explained all the twists and turns clearly in front of Lu Yunyao, and Lu Yunyao turned pale and felt cold all over.

Therefore, the idea that Young Master Shen was interested in her was all an illusion created by Madam and Gu Xizhi.

If she hadn't decided today to ask her brother to bring a pair of knee-length clothes for Young Master Shen, and her brother hadn't noticed something was wrong, both her aunt and her brother would have been dragged into this situation by her.

Thinking of this, Lu Yunyao couldn't help sobbing, and regretted it so much that she raised her hand and slapped herself.

"Yao'er!"

Aunt Zhou held Lu Yunyao's hand distressedly and comforted her softly, "It's okay, there's still time."

She reached out and held Lu Yunyao in her arms, patting her daughter's back again and again, with a cold light surging in her beautiful eyes.

The general didn't like the fighting in the harem, so she never resorted to those dirty tricks of framing others.

But just because she doesn't play doesn't mean she can't!

Since Madam has used her methods on Yaoer, if I don’t take action this time, it’ll be fine. But once I do, Madam will never be able to turn over!

Thinking of this, Aunt Zhou pulled Lu Yunyao up, personally wrung out a handkerchief to clean her face, and then walked to the desk to grind ink and pick up the pen.

Lu Yunyao stood beside her aunt, feeling anxious and regretful, not knowing what else she could do in such a bad situation.

But I saw Aunt Zhou writing very quickly, filling up a piece of letter paper with words, and then she picked up the pen on the envelope.

Lu Yunyao couldn't help but lean over to take a look. When she saw the words clearly, her face changed drastically.

From Miss Shen herself?

Aunt, do you know Miss Shen?