Su Jinli took the oil-paper package and opened it. Inside was a lifelike sugar-painted phoenix. Amber-colored sugar threads outlined the smooth feathers, and the patterns on the tail were delicate and detailed, sparkling with crystal light under the palace lantern.
"It's really beautiful." Su Jinli couldn't help but admire it. "It's much better than what grandma used to draw."
"Yes, yes!" Xiaoyue raised her little face, her eyes sparkling. "Grandpa Zhang said he used to make sugar paintings for the ladies in the palace! Grandpa even chatted with him for a long time, asking him if he had seen any ancient manuals for 'dragon-shaped sugar paintings'!"
Jiang Yan laughed when he heard this: "Oh? There is such a thing?"
"Yes!" Xiaoyue nodded vigorously. "Grandpa Zhang said he saw an old book with many kinds of dragons on it! There were 'five-clawed golden dragons', 'water dragons', and... there were also 'earthworm dragons'!"
"Pfft—" Su Jinli couldn't help laughing and pinched her granddaughter's face. "Grandpa Zhang is an interesting person."
"Grandma," Xiaoyue suddenly remembered something and pulled at the corner of Su Jinli's clothes, her tone a little worried, "Just now I passed by the corner gate and saw Grandpa Liu giving the steamed buns and money to that old man. He cried so loudly and kept kowtowing to Grandpa Liu..."
Su Jinli squatted down, tidied up her granddaughter's messy hair, and said softly, "Yue'er, helping others is a good thing. But you have to remember that true kindness is not about gaining others' gratitude, but because we feel we should do so."
"Yeah!" Xiaoyue nodded, not quite understanding. "Just like grandma helping that old man, right?"
"Yes." Su Jinli smiled and hugged her granddaughter in her arms. "Okay, it's late, time to go back to bed. Grandma will teach you how to draw sugar paintings tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay!" Xiaoyue cheered, kissed Su Jinli on the face, ran over and kissed Jiang Yan, then skipped away following the maid.
Watching her granddaughter's retreating figure, Su Jinli stood up and took a deep breath of the floral night air. The evening breeze blew away the last traces of worry, and she suddenly felt incredibly relaxed.
The grudges of the past are like the flickering shadows of a lamp in the corridor, seemingly clear but actually illusory. The happiness before us, like the sugar-painted phoenix in our hands, is sweetness and warmth within reach.
She turned her head to look at Jiang Yan. He was looking at her gently with a smile in his eyes.
"Let's go," Su Jinli took his arm, "let's go back and rest early. Tomorrow we still have to teach Xiaoyue how to draw her grandmother's 'earthworm dragon'."
"Okay." Jiang Yan chuckled and let her pull him forward. "But Madam, I think the 'Earthworm Dragon' is pretty good, at least..."
"At least what?"
"At least," Jiang Yan leaned close to her ear, his voice carrying a hint of sly tenderness, "that was the cutest thing I thought about you when I first saw you."
Su Jinli's cheeks flushed, and she punched him lightly: "You old pervert!"
The night breeze blew, bringing the fragrance of flowers and the quiet laughter of the two people. The night in the prime minister's residence was quiet and warm, just like Su Jinli's mood at the moment - after going through wind and rain, she finally saw the rainbow, and the years to come were as sweet as honey.
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