Shujun sat upright, his back ramrod straight, an earnest and solemn look in his eyes. It was because his eldest brother appeared so serious.
"Has something happened?" he asked cautiously.
Liang Zhichen pondered: "In a manner of speaking, yes and no. The lady of the house is aware of it. I don’t intend to hide it from you, but Shu Yu is in poor health, Haoming is not astute enough, Yue Ning is too hot-tempered, and Yixuan... alas!"
Liang Zhichen sighed, then went on to talk about his ’Premonition Dreams.’ He shared everything with Shujun—how he had mistakenly drunk the Purple Gu Blood of his wife, the recurring dreams he had afterward, and all the events that had unfolded since then.
"I can only trust this family, and right now, you are the only one who can help me. I don’t want the others to worry excessively."
Liang Shujun was shocked, struggling to wrap his mind around it. "But... that’s not right, is it? In your dream, Eldest Brother, the lady of the house appeared to have already... yet she is still alive!"
Liang Zhichen gave his third brother a meaningful look; unfortunately, Shujun, having only recently recovered his sight, did not have very good vision and failed to grasp his brother’s implication.
But after musing over it for a moment, Shujun was suddenly struck with horror. "Aside from the lady of the house, everything else is exactly as it was in your dream, including... Pei Yu?" His face contorted momentarily, recalling how in his elder brother’s dream, he and Little Liu met with terrible deaths.
Liang Zhichen said, "I’m telling you this not only to urge you to be cautious but also because the lady of the house has already made up her mind. She is going to focus entirely on treating you and Shu Yu for now. Once you two are cured, she plans to go into business. You have a lot of experience in this area, so when the time comes, you can give her some assistance."
Liang Shujun pursed his lips, "Eldest Brother, the lady of the house..." He realized what that meant.
Liang Zhichen wore an expression of someone who understands the truth but chooses not to reveal it, "Regardless, she is still our wife."
Shujun fell silent, "You’re right, but if that’s the case... it would be too pitiable for her to have been so misunderstood by us, wouldn’t it?"
Even he himself had once detested the lady of the house.
The elder brother patted his shoulder, "The only issue left now is with Shu Yu. She hasn’t resolved her inner turmoil, but I’ve noticed she seems to be getting over it recently."
Shujun forced a smile, "She is just too burdened by her thoughts."
Then, he grasped his elder brother’s hand, "You once told me when I asked about your white hair that it was due to excessive worry. Was it because of me? Was it because of my circumstances...?" Shujun was intelligent; he recalled the time when his second brother had been gravely ill, half-stepping into Hell’s door, barely clinging to life.
The elder brother’s hair had turned somewhat white with worry at the time. Since then, a streak of frost had appeared at each temple, and now, the remaining black hair had turned completely white.
After much thought, he knew that the problem must rest with himself.
Liang Zhichen mumbled something vague, "The past is the past, don’t dwell on it too much. I’ve told you all this because if nothing goes wrong, I may have to go on a long journey after the new year is over."
Liang Shujun furrowed his brows, holding his elder brother’s hand tightly, his grip firming, "No way!"
"My heart is filled with unease, Eldest Brother. It’s not that I want to criticize you, but ever since we were young, you have always been . You shoulder everything alone, undergoing more hardship than anyone. Had you not told me about these matters, it might be different, but now that you have, I cannot possibly let you leave alone!"