"Actually..."
Liu Shuheng slowly poured himself a cup of tea. With a slightly dissatisfied look in his eyes, he glanced at Liu Yiyi, who seemed absent - minded. "I returned to Fujian a few years ago."
"Um..." Liu Yiyi replied perfunctorily. She still sat by the window, her eyes constantly drifting towards the alley entrance.
"But I didn't go home."
"Right."
"I went into Dayi Mountain."
"Okay."
Liu Shuheng slammed the teacup on the table with a "bang" and roared in a low voice, "I was captured by mountain bandits and almost lost my life!"
"Captured then. You..." Liu Yiyi answered casually, but suddenly stopped. She turned her head abruptly. "What did you say? You were captured by mountain bandits?"
"Yes. I was on the verge of death. It was really dangerous!" Liu Shuheng snorted. Seeing that his sister's attention was finally back on him, he felt more at ease. "Fortunately, I was smart at that time. Relying on my own wits, I managed to please the leader of the bandits and got myself a position as a military advisor."
Military advisor...
Military advisor??
Liu Yiyi stared at the blue cloth headscarf on her second brother's head. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She quickly sat over. "When did you arrive at Dayi Mountain? And which stronghold were you captured in?"
"I don't remember which stronghold..." Liu Shuheng tilted his head and winked playfully. "But I do remember that their mountain stronghold later raided a very large caravan and captured a little lady who was dark and thin~~"
...
"It's really you!"
Liu Yiyi exclaimed in surprise. "When Wanming told me about it back then, she didn't explain it clearly... We all thought it was a fox spirit in the mountains who had transformed into a scholar!"
"What nonsense..." Liu Shuheng mumbled discontentedly. "Fox spirits only seduce scholars. How could they possibly transform into scholars and join others to suppress bandits?"
Liu Shuheng gently tapped the rim of the teacup with his index finger. "That Li Wanming is so silly. I hinted so obviously to her, but she still didn't recognize me!"
"You haven't been back for years. When was the last time Wanming saw you? You're always so elusive. Of course she couldn't recognize you!" Liu Yiyi snorted. Suddenly, she remembered something. "But how did you recognize her?"
Logically speaking, Li Wanming was only four or five years old the last time she saw her elder brother. After ten years, Li Wanming should have changed more... How could Liu Shuheng still recognize her?
"That's easy," Liu Shuheng slowly took a sip of tea and said disdainfully. "She's just as bold and silly as you. I just bluffed her a little, and she told me everything!"
He smacked his lips. Suddenly, he changed the subject. "But seriously, I remember Li Wanming was quite fair - skinned when she was little. How did she turn into such a skinny and dark - skinned girl later? Tell me, did you two cause trouble on the street every day?"
Liu Yiyi was not afraid of him at all. She answered firmly with an "um" and said, "No matter how much trouble we caused, it was all in Fujian! Unlike someone who runs all over the world and doesn't even send a single letter home!"
"Don't even mention the letter home!" Liu Shuheng suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon. He slumped in the chair. "The last time I wrote a letter, the address was leaked. Mother came straight over! She even brought portraits of seven or eight girls for me to choose from. She said that if I didn't choose a suitable one to marry, she wouldn't leave..."
He patted his chest with lingering fear, still in shock. "Fortunately, I ran fast... It was so scary."
Liu Yiyi was silent for a moment and said softly, "In the future... it should be different. Mother may have thought it through in the past two years."
After saying that, she told Liu Shuheng what had happened in the family in the past two years.
After listening, Liu Shuheng clapped his hands in admiration. "Great! Mother has finally seen the essence of life and marriage!"
"Life is but a few decades. One should just follow one's heart and live a happy and unrestrained life! If one always looks ahead and behind and compromises everywhere, and finally ends up full of resentment, wouldn't that be so憋屈?"
Liu Yiyi glanced at him. "Making irresponsibility sound so elegant..."
Just as the siblings were bickering, they suddenly heard footsteps approaching outside the door. Pei Yanqi returned with the remaining two teams.
"Let me introduce you," Liu Yiyi's eyes suddenly lit up. Like a happy little sparrow, she bounced over, grabbed Pei Yanqi and pulled him over. "This is my second brother, Liu Shuheng."
"Second brother?" Pei Yanqi was stunned at first, then suddenly slapped his forehead in realization. "Oh, I know! The most unreliable one in your family you told me about!"
Liu Shuheng's face immediately darkened.
Liu Yiyi quickly pulled Pei Yanqi aside. "Ahem, well... My brother is very reliable this time. He brought us a great gift!"
She briefly explained the matter of the fireworks.
"Great!" Pei Yanqi was overjoyed. "We found a large amount of flour at the other two docks. With the fireworks, we'll be even more powerful and achieve twice the result with half the effort... I'll send a signal to General Xiao Hu right away!" After saying that, he hurriedly led his men away.
After Pei Yanqi and the others left, Liu Shuheng slowly took a sip of tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at his sister and casually said, "This is the person you've carefully chosen? He doesn't seem very smart..."
"What person?" Liu Yiyi was taking out a pen and ink and drawing up the next action plan on the table. She didn't pay attention to what he said at all, but only heard the last sentence "not very smart".
She grinned. "He's much smarter than you. He's a top - scorer in the imperial examination!"
"Pfft—" Liu Shuheng choked on his tea. He didn't know whether to swallow it or spit it out.
He blushed with embarrassment. His mouth twitched for a long time. Finally, he angrily put down the teacup. "So what if he's a top - scorer? He's just a bookworm!"
"No, he's not..." Liu Yiyi didn't even lift her head. "Yanqi is also very good at painting. The picture books he painted with his own hands have sold out in the capital. He's also very fast at calculating. Even Father can't compare with him. Father said that with him, there's no need to bring an abacus when going out to collect debts. Moreover, he's very good at teaching. Even that trouble - maker from the Ningwang Mansion..."
"Yanqi, Yanqi, Yanqi!" Liu Shuheng almost gritted his back teeth. "Is he your brother or am I? Why do you keep speaking for an outsider? You're taking sides against your own family!"
Liu Yiyi was confused. "He's my business partner. Shouldn't I find someone smart and reliable instead of someone as unreliable as you?"
"I..." Veins popped on Liu Shuheng's forehead. His knuckles holding the teacup turned pale. Finally, he helplessly lowered his head and let out a long sigh. "Forget it. A daughter grows up and won't listen to her family. Keeping her will only lead to hatred..."