The blush pouring out from the lantern made her snow-white skin look a bit more bloody, but she was still stunningly beautiful.

Jiang Yi has never denied her beauty.

He had seen very few women in his life, except his mother, and almost no other women. If he had to add one, it would probably be the little girl with almond-shaped eyes who had been with Master Jiang Wu in the capital two years ago but accidentally got lost and who had helped him find someone.

She is even younger than him, with a chubby face. It’s hard to tell whether she is pretty or ugly, she just looks cute.

But Yan Yiming was different. She was already a beautiful woman of marriageable age. She was a few years older than him and even taller than him. Jiang Yi could not regard her as a mature woman of the same age as his mother, nor would he regard her as a little girl who knew nothing. In his heart, Yan Yiming stayed in a position that even he himself could not explain.

Now she looked at him with a smile and said, "Let's stay up together to celebrate the New Year." Jiang Yi's heart, which had been cold for most of the night, seemed to suddenly burst into a spark. He asked her in disbelief, "Why are you here?"

"Grandma doesn't like you or me. We are all strangers, so of course we should celebrate the New Year together." Yan Yiming smiled and blinked. "What's the point of being with them? I'll use the excuse of feeling unwell to go back and rest. Have you eaten anything?"

Jiang Yi shook his head, still feeling a little confused.

No matter how much Old Madam Jiang disliked him, he knew that Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang held her in the palm of their hands and loved her very much. He was an outsider living under someone else's roof, but she was not.

"How can you go hungry during the New Year?" Yan Yiming stood up and pulled him out the door and back to her yard.

Because Yan Yiming's place was a bit far away, Mrs. Jiang allowed her to add a small kitchen. Lan Xiu brought up the cooked dumplings. Jiang Yi bit into one and it hurt his teeth.

There was a copper coin in the dumpling.

Lan Xiu smiled and explained, "Miss said to put a copper coin in the dumplings. Whoever can find it when eating it will be very lucky."

Yan Yiming supported his chin with one hand and nodded and repeated, "Yes, what a blessing."

For a moment, Jiang Yi thought that meeting her was the greatest blessing.

The dumplings made by Lan Xiu tasted delicious, but Yan Yiming didn't eat a single bite. She took the bowl of medicine handed to her by Lan Xiu, frowned, and drank it all in one gulp.

Jiang Yi wanted to ask why she took the medicine, but suddenly he remembered that Yan Yiming had a congenital deficiency. He remembered that on the first day she came to the Jiang Mansion, Mrs. Jiang said sharply that she would not live for a few more years.

My heart suddenly felt a sharp pain.

Yan Yiming saw his sudden change of expression and tried to comfort him gently, "It won't be bitter anymore after you get used to it."

Perhaps it was because she acted like an adult when she saw him, teasing him but also taking care of him, which made him always ignore her body which was thinner than others and her skin which was too white.

She said she was used to it and she had been drinking it for so many years, but she had never stopped taking the medicine over all these years.

She won't live long, Fifth Master Jiang said so, Second Madam Jiang said so, and a maid also said so on the first day she entered the mansion. Words that she never paid attention to at the time now linger in her ears and are engraved in her heart.

It can never be erased.

Yan Yiming asked Jiang Yi to stay at his place to celebrate the New Year. No one else would know about it, but it could not be hidden from Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang carefully looked outside and didn't see Mr. Jiang. She then pulled her daughter aside and asked her, "How could you, an unmarried woman, bring him to your residence?"

It seems that Mrs. Jiang doesn't know that this is not the first time.

Yan Yiming smiled and said, "Jiang Yi is a member of our family and my younger brother. There is nothing taboo about siblings from the same clan. Besides, he is only that old."

Mrs. Jiang was also quick-witted and found it funny after she finished speaking. Although Jiang Yi was not related by blood, he was still the son of Master Jiang Wu, and he was indeed still young.

"But your father doesn't like this child," Mrs. Jiang sighed.

She roughly understood why her daughter took special care of Jiang Yi. In this mansion, Yan Yiming only had two legitimate brothers who were much older than her, and the fourth brother, who was about the same age as her, was born out of wedlock. Ah Ming had a cold personality, while the fourth sister was very lively and the two were not close.

Jiang Yi is a few years younger than A Ming, and like A Ming, he is a quiet and detached person. At that time, A Ming happened to see him standing in the snow pitifully and felt pity for him, so he has been taking care of him ever since.

Mrs. Jiang was not like Old Lady Jiang who hated Jiang Yi's mother. She would not hate Jiang Yi for no reason, so she did not think there was anything wrong with Ah Ming being close to Jiang Yi.

But Mr. Jiang doesn't like it.

Mrs. Jiang held her daughter's hand, and looked at the blue veins that were particularly obvious because of her white skin. She couldn't help feeling a pain in her heart. She wanted to persuade her, but the words stopped at her lips.

She didn't know how long her daughter could live. She had never taken the initiative to care about anyone since she was a child. Jiang Yi was the first one.

As long as her daughter is happy, there is no need for her to persuade her anymore.

She would think of a way to talk to the master later.

Unexpectedly, Yan Yiming reached out and held Madam Jiang's hand and said, "I will talk to Dad myself. If he fails to persuade me, you can help me, Mom."

Mrs. Jiang hesitated for a moment and asked her to go to the study to find Mr. Jiang.

Mr. Jiang was sitting at his desk. His already serious face looked even more frightening now. When he saw his daughter come in, his tense expression relaxed involuntarily, but when he remembered that he had to educate his daughter today, his expression suddenly became serious again.

Little Apple hid aside and couldn't help laughing when she saw the smile suddenly disappear from Mr. Jiang's face. Yan Yiming sat on the chair opposite Mr. Jiang, enduring Little Apple's crazy behavior that suddenly touched his funny bone.

As soon as Master Jiang looked up, he saw his daughter's well-behaved appearance, and he suddenly lost his seriousness. After going back and forth like this for a few times, he finally sighed helplessly, "I've never seen you say a few soft words to your brother or sister, so why do you have to take care of that kid so much?"

"Maybe it's fate," Yan Yiming smiled, "Dad, even if Fifth Uncle did something wrong back then, Shaojun was only a three-year-old child at that time, what does it have to do with him? Shaojun is very talented and has passed the Tongshi exam at a young age..."

Mr. Jiang was ready to refute his daughter's remarks, but Yan Yiming's last sentence successfully diverted Mr. Jiang's attention, "Passed the child examination? Isn't he only thirteen years old?"

Yan Yiming smiled and said, "There is no shortage of geniuses in the world. In ancient times, Zhang Juzheng passed the Tongshi exam at the age of twelve, Yang Tinghe passed the Juren exam at the age of twelve, and Shaojun became a Xiucai at the age of thirteen. It's not a big deal."

Mr. Jiang almost vomited blood.

Back then, his eldest son was already five years old when he passed the Tongshi. After more than ten years of trying, he finally passed the Gongshi and got an official position. His eldest son was already thirty years old but was still just a Tongsheng, and he could never pass the final academy examination of the Tongshi. It was almost February again and the Tongshi exam was about to begin. Everyone in the Jiang family who could go was studying, but the daughter said that Jiang Yi had already passed the Tongshi exam.

Even Mr. Jiang, who is now the head of the family, could not hide his surprise. He asked his daughter again with uncertainty. Yan Yiming said helplessly, "If Daddy doesn't believe it, just go to the government office to check it yourself. Who dares to falsify such a thing?"

Mr. Jiang nodded, and immediately did not mention the matter of not allowing Yan Yiming and Jiang Yi to get close, and hurried to the government office.

After returning that night, Mr. Jiang, with a joyful face, instructed Mrs. Jiang to assign another maid to Jiang Yi and also sent many things, especially pens, ink, paper, inkstone and books.

Jiang Yi looked at the residence which was suddenly no longer shabby, and remembered that Yan Yiming had told him yesterday that he would give him a surprise today. A smile appeared on his face, and he went straight to Yan Yiming's place.

I can finally meet her openly from now on.