Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Chapter 377 Reservoir

For more than 20 years, he has felt wronged, growing up without the love and care of his parents.

But what right did he have to feel aggrieved? He wasn't a victim, but a perpetrator. He killed his sister, caused Guan Lingyue to leave the Luo family, and tore apart what was once a happy family of four.

What's the point of harboring resentment towards his mother for over twenty years? In his most critical moment, his mother sent people to rescue him. Throughout his childhood, his eldest sister took care of him in place of their mother.

The truly selfish and indifferent person is actually him.

He harmed his sister and Guan Lingyue and then forgot about them all. He didn't think about how his mother had survived all these years, nor did he think about where his senior sister's gentleness and consideration came from.

What has he been doing all these years?

Self-loathing, like a burst dam, destroyed his years of self-righteousness.

Tears that were never shed in childhood fell after learning the truth as an adult.

Luo An held Nian Yao in his arms and cried like a child, his heart breaking.

Nianyao's eyes were red, and she held Luo An tightly, as if she were holding not a grown man, but the silent, tearless child from twenty years ago.

Luo An's suppressed sobs gradually subsided, and he slumped down, nestled motionless in Nian Yao's arms. Like someone who had carried a heavy burden for a long time, the moment the burden was finally lifted, he could no longer hold on and collapsed.

Nianyao turned Luo An around, supporting his shoulders, and carried him into the inner room, placing him on the bed. Luo An closed his eyes, letting her do as she pleased, as if he were asleep.

Nianyao picked up the two cloth tigers beside her pillow, one yellow and one red. Both tigers had wide-open eyes and a "king" character embroidered on their foreheads, making them look both fierce and cute.

Luo An had told Nian Yao that his senior sister took care of his daily needs, even sleeping with him. She slept in the outer room, and he slept in the inner room.

When Luo An was seven years old, his father said that a boy this big could no longer live with his eldest sister. So he moved out of his eldest sister's room and into the manor lord's courtyard.

The eldest sister sewed him a pair of tigers by hand and placed them on either side of his pillow. She said that tigers are the kings of the mountains, the biggest and most powerful creatures, and they would protect little Luo An.

But he was only seven years old. Occasionally, when the mountain rains were heavy and the winds were howling, he would still be afraid and would run to sit outside his senior sister's door. At that time, he was stubborn and would neither speak nor leave, just sit there by himself.

When the eldest sister came out of her room and found him, his clothes were soaked. Later, when the weather was bad again, the eldest sister came and took him to her house.

Luo An had been away from Heaven on Earth for several years and had not returned. His senior sister brought two tigers to the bed he used to sleep on when he was a child, and every day when she came in to sweep the room, it was as if she saw him.

In the eyes of his eldest sister, he was always a child. Even after he got married, his eldest sister never changed the furnishings of the inner room, and the two tigers were still placed on either side of the pillow.

There were footsteps outside. Nianyao turned her head and saw An Liangchen's figure dart around in front of the door. She put the tiger back in its place, tucked in the blanket, and tiptoed out.

An Liangchen stood with his hands behind his back under the window of the inner room, gazing at the towering mountain peaks opposite, exuding an aura of unapproachability.

Luo An's aloofness stemmed from his cold indifference that kept people at arm's length; An Liangchen's aloofness came from his innate, superior nobility.

An Liangchen turned around, but before he could greet Nianyao, he saw her kneeling in front of him. The word "sister-in-law" that An Liangchen was about to say was swallowed back down.

Nianyao said, "Your Highness, I would like to ask you for a favor."

An Liangchen asked a completely unrelated question: "The Dahe Gang deals with rivers, lakes, and seas, so you should know about the Liangzhu Reservoir, right?"

Unable to fathom An Liangchen's intentions, Nianyao could only reply, "I know. The reservoir was built under the leadership of the Empress after she ascended the throne, and it has benefited the Liangzhu Plain."

An Liangchen smiled and said, "The Liangzhu Reservoir was originally built by my uncle, who participated in the entire process, including surveying, design, and construction."

The reservoir was completed just as several days of torrential rains occurred. The uncle thought it would be a good opportunity to prove to his aunt that the reservoir could protect the people of Nanyue from floods and ensure the harvest of the plains that year.

Xue Longpan, the General Who Guards the Nation of Nanyue, was your uncle. He led his troops to breach the dikes. The floodwaters inundated the Liangzhu Plain, causing countless deaths and injuries.

Lord Su, Su Wuming's father, gave the story he had written to the storyteller. The storyteller spread the tale throughout the land, saying that Uncle Su regarded the people of Nanyue as ants and deliberately cut corners in building the reservoir to flood the granaries and drown or starve the people of Nanyue. Uncle Su became a pariah in Nanyue.

To ensure his aunt could stay in Bianjing without worry, his uncle devoted countless efforts to governing Nanyue. The construction of reservoirs for Nanyue nearly emptied half of Dongyang's national treasury. This led to discontent among Dongyang's ministers and the people, resulting in his impeachment.

Compared to An Liangchen's calm tone, Nianyao was shocked.

An Liangchen said, "After this incident, your aunt completely gave up and abandoned the idea of ​​staying in Dongyang. Because she knew that as long as she didn't return, the people's suffering would not stop. The instigators of this suffering were the self-proclaimed loyal and brave ministers of Nanyue, especially your uncle."

Twenty years ago, your uncle and his associates threatened the lives of the people of Nanyue to force your aunt to return, resulting in Xiao An's lack of growth and the early death of his parents.

Twenty years later, you threatened your own lives to force Xiao An to return. In your eyes, what are they, mother and son? Tools for you to maintain your wealth and status?

Twenty years have passed, and you are still only thinking about your own fame and future. Have you ever thought about him even a little bit?

Whether it was twenty years ago or twenty years later, it has nothing to do with Nianyao. But after hearing this, Nianyao broke out in a cold sweat, as if she had committed a heinous crime and was unforgivable, as if the "you" that An Liangchen was talking about were herself.

Nianyao knelt on the ground with her head down, staring at the ants that seemed to have crawled out of nowhere, unable to utter a word.

An Liangchen waited a while before saying, "What was your sister-in-law about to ask me for? Get up and speak. We're all family, it's too formal to ask for something."

Although she hadn't been kneeling for long, her legs felt weak as if she had been kneeling for days and nights. Nianyao braced herself on the ground with her hands, hunched her back, and got up, gently shaking her head.

An Liangchen didn't press the matter: "It's alright, sister-in-law, just let me know if you remember. Minister Zhang from the Ministry of Revenue is coming with his men to audit the accounts and is expected to stay on the mountain for a while. I'll go and take a look."

After An Liangchen walked away, Nianyao slowly turned around and stared blankly at the window: Luo An is in the room!

Winning hearts and minds is the best policy! What could be more vicious than this?

But how could my uncle do this? How could my uncle be such a person?

So she just stayed in Heaven and Earth, doing nothing? Just watching the Dongyang army crush Nanyue?

Or should she go back to Nanyue to persuade them to surrender? The Xue family's sons and daughters only died in battle, never surrendered. How could she do something that would bring shame to their ancestors?

I'm afraid that as soon as she utters those words, her uncle will drag her to the ancestral hall and execute her as a traitor.

Nianyao let out a painful sob: God, please tell me, what should I do now?