At the dawn of summer, the blazing sun, like golden threads, weaved delicately across every inch of the Prime Minister's residence. The ancient locust tree, with its lush branches and leaves, resembled a giant green umbrella, casting a cool breeze over the courtyard. The cicadas, as if sensing the summer's warmth, chirped joyfully in the branches, their chorus like a vibrant summer symphony.
In this atmosphere, Jiang Yan carefully sorted through his mother's belongings in his study. Inside, the sandalwood bookcase exuded an ancient and mellow fragrance. The rows of books, quietly standing on the shelves, seemed to tell the story of the years. Deep within the bookcase, a locked camphorwood box shone with a soft luster, as if it contained endless secrets through the passage of time. The copper lock was engraved with an exquisite twin lotus pattern. The petals were so vivid that they seemed to sway gently in the breeze. This was his mother's favorite pattern, carrying her yearning for beautiful love and deep friendship.
Jiang Yan gently brushed away the dust that had accumulated on the lid of the box. The dust, caught in the sunlight, fluttered down like fine snow. His thoughts, following the falling dust, returned to his mother's final moments. Her withered hand clutched him tightly, her eyes filled with longing and a plea: "Yan'er, if you meet someone wearing the Twin Lotus jade pendant, you must help them..." Her voice was weak yet resolute, as if she had used up her last bit of strength to imprint this weighty instruction deeply into his heart.
"Master, where should this box be moved to?" The servant's voice was like a pair of sharp scissors, instantly cutting off Jiang Yan's memories. He was slightly startled, then waved his hand, signaling the servant to leave. Jiang Yan's eyes fell on the copper lock again, and a strong curiosity and desire surged in his heart, wanting to uncover the secret hidden in this camphor box. He thought for a moment, pulled out a hairpin from his head, carefully inserted it into the keyhole, and pried it gently. With a light "click", the copper lock was finally pried open, and a strong smell of camphor hit his face, as if it was the breath of dust over the years. At this moment, a diary with a blue cloth cover slipped out of the box and fell to the ground with a slight muffled sound.
Jiang Yan quickly squatted down and picked up the diary. The pages of the diary were already yellowed, as if telling the long years it had gone through. He gently opened the first page, and a painting came into his sight. The painting showed two little girls with pigtails, smiling brightly and innocently. Next to it was a line of beautiful small words: "Awan and Ayue, forever best friends." Jiang Yan's fingertips trembled involuntarily. Ayue was his mother's maiden name, and "Awan" - a light suddenly flashed in his mind, and he suddenly remembered the name of Su Jinli's biological mother, Su Wanqing. Could it be that his mother and Su Jinli's mother had such a deep friendship? This discovery caused a surge in Jiang Yan's heart.
"Jinli!" Jiang Yan could no longer contain his excitement. He rushed out of the study, his steps hurried, as if he was afraid of missing something important. At this moment, the sun was shining brightly, casting patches of mottled light and shadow in the courtyard. Jiang Yan saw at a glance that Su Jinli was teaching Nianli to draw abacus in the yard. Three-year-old Nianli, holding the charcoal pencil tightly in her hand, her little face full of seriousness and concentration, she raised the charcoal pencil high and shouted excitedly: "Mom, the abacus I draw will make a sound!" The crisp child's voice echoed in the courtyard like a silver bell.
Su Jinli heard Jiang Yan's cry and turned around with a hint of doubt in her eyes. Jiang Yan walked quickly to her side and handed her the diary. When Su Jinli took the diary, a cicada shell happened to fall slowly from the locust tree and landed gently at her feet. She frowned slightly, feeling vaguely in her heart that there seemed to be some unknown secrets hidden in this diary. Su Jinli slowly turned to the second page, only to see the ink on it suddenly smudged, as if it had been soaked with tears. "Today, Ah Yue was pushed down the embroidery building by Miss Wang to protect me, and her leg bone was broken..." The handwriting was sloppy and weeping, and Su Jinli recognized it at a glance. It was her mother's handwriting. Seeing this line of words, Su Jinli's heart suddenly tightened, as if she could feel the pain and anger when her mother wrote these words.
Jiang Yan stood aside, looking at Su Jinli, his eyes filled with concern and worry. He knew that the contents of this diary might uncover a long-forgotten past, a story of grievances and hatreds between their mothers. Su Jinli's hands tightly grasped the diary, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. Her mind flashed back to her mother's appearance. How much pain and suffering did that gentle and kind woman endure? And what kind of pain did Jiang Yan's mother endure to protect her mother? All of this was like a fog, shrouding her heart.
"Jiang Yan," Su Jinli raised her head, tears glistening in her eyes, "it turns out that our mothers had such a deep friendship. And the Wang family..." Su Jinli's voice trembled slightly with anger, and her hatred for the Wang family increased a bit at this moment. Jiang Yan gently held Su Jinli's hand, trying to give her some strength and comfort. "Jinli, don't be too sad. Since we have discovered this secret, we must find out the truth of the year and give an explanation to our two mothers." Jiang Yan's voice was calm and firm, like a bright lamp in the darkness, illuminating Su Jinli's heart.
Su Jinli nodded slightly. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Nianli was standing aside, looking at the serious expressions of her mother and father, feeling a little scared. She put down the charcoal pencil, ran over and hugged Su Jinli's legs, and asked in a baby voice, "Mom, what's wrong? Did Nianli make you angry?" Su Jinli looked at Nianli's cute appearance, and the grief in her heart eased a little. She squatted down, gently stroked Nianli's head, and said, "Nianli, it's not your fault. Mom just remembered some sad things." Nianli nodded, not quite understanding. She wiped the tears from Su Jinli's face with her little hands and said, "Mom, don't cry, Nianli will protect you." After hearing this, Su Jinli felt a warm current in her heart. She hugged Nianli tightly, as if she had found the source of strength at this moment.
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