Chapter 478
When people are extremely incredulous, they will produce a feeling of dizziness close to dreaming.
It's like the earth is spinning, and it feels like walking on cotton. Even the light and shadow in front of you will gradually darken.
Jiang Sheng had many such moments.
When Eldest Brother was busy working in the Imperial Academy, Third Brother was fighting bloody battles on the frontiers, Second Brother went out of town, and Fourth and Fifth Brothers were trapped in the palace, she would always hold the account books of Jiuzhen Lane in a daze.
Life is too good now. She doesn't lack food or worry about clothes. She has her dad and grandmother. She is no longer the little beggar that everyone hated and dogs despised, who had to struggle in hunger and cold.
The hardships of the past faded over time. In a trance, she even doubted whether she had met the five brothers.
Those days when the siblings supported each other and experienced the sweet, sour, bitter and spicy together evaporated into bubbles in the daily yearning, and they inexplicably began to slip away.
When Jiang Sheng came back to her senses, she broke out in a cold sweat all over.
If the price of wealth was losing her brothers, then she would rather go back to the past and live precariously from day to day.
But yearning was just like that. The more eager she was, the more blurred her mind became. And the more she looked forward to it, the more vague it became.
Until that person appeared alive.
Jiang Sheng's dreamlike feeling reached its peak at this moment. The corners of her mouth curved downwards like countless nights. Her nose and throat tingled at the same time, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
Was it true or false?
Was it real or a dream?
Her thoughts intertwined back and forth. In the end, the fear of loss outweighed her expectations, and the surrounding scenes distorted accordingly. The only thing she could grasp was the corner of the person next to her.
"Second Brother, I'm dreaming again. I dreamed that Fifth Brother came home. I can't tell if this is true or false..."
She babbled as much as possible, as if to express her panic, and to recite her uneasiness.
Not until the real feeling of fabric friction came, did Jiang Sheng realize belatedly that this didn't seem to be a dream.
The distorted scenery gradually recovered, the noisy buzzing sounds disappeared, and the lively and fragrant small courtyard unfolded in her mind.
Along with it was the familiar sobbing.
"Woo woo woo, woo woo little Five... This is not a dream, this is true." Zheng Ruqian grinned and howled, "Little Five really came back. Jiang Sheng, wake up, this is not a dream."
This really wasn't a dream.
Jiang Sheng suddenly looked up, her big eyes fixed firmly on the front, the androgynous boy who had grown more handsome as he aged, but still as beautiful as ever, outshining everyone around him.
The powerless Fifth Prince had to hide in the depths of the palace, while the all-powerful Crown Prince could come and go freely.
Those concealed relationships, those people he cared about, could finally all be taken under his wings.
It sounded good, but who still remembered his former leisurely and carefree days carving wood, the freedom and joy of stroking the wind, and gazing into the distance with hope and anticipation?
Bearing his mother's expectations, he should have flown freely in the distance, but was trapped in this dense quagmire instead.
Was he really happy?
Jiang Sheng didn't know, nor could she ask.
Things had come to this, what use was there in talking about it now, could it change anything?
Only immature people would reopen someone's wounds after the conclusion was set.
No matter how upset Jiang Sheng felt, she still had to force a smile and rush over to pull her two brothers' hands and act coquettishly to Auntie, "Auntie, auntie, auntie, Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother want to eat braised elbows."
"Looks like you're the one who wants to eat it." Zhang Xianglian wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I know what Zhiyun and Chang Yan like to eat. I'll go prepare them now."
No matter what, it was good to be home.
The temporarily quiet small courtyard came alive again. Smoke billowed with fragrance spreading into the distance. Braised elbows and stir fried dishes were brought out in order, along with new pastries from Jiuzhen Lane, the most tender lamb from Baiwei Life.
Family members who had been absent for a long time were gathered around the round table again, laughing as they picked up bowls and chopsticks.
"Isn't Eldest Brother coming home for dinner?" Wen Zhiyun looked around and asked softly.
Looks like Little Four missed his big brother too.
Zheng Ruqian hadn't come over with dishes yet. Chang Yan smiled and explained, "The Imperial Academy provides lunch. Officials who are too busy can choose to eat on site, in order to get off work earlier."
The Dayu Dynasty had comprehensive laws and regulations. Officials not only had a set time to start work, but would also be punished for being late, with deductions from their salary.
Similarly, to prevent absenteeism, each official had different tasks to complete each day. Failure to complete them meant they had to extend their time to go home, which was the so-called getting off work time.
That was fine, but officials of the Golden Sacred Hall had it the toughest.
The ancestral precept was to be punctual for the morning court at the set time. The ministers could hardly make the Emperor wait, so they had to wash up and travel even earlier, sometimes before dawn in winter. That was commonplace.
By comparison, Xu Mo at the Imperial Academy was quite relaxed.
But this relaxation was unlikely to last too long.
Chang Yan pulled back his thoughts, and pretended to casually ask, "Just now outside I heard you guys talking about a wedding, who's having a wedding?"