The painting, painted with childish brushstrokes, depicted two people holding hands, surrounded by a group of smiling little people. Su Jinli took the painting and saw the crooked signature in the lower left corner: "Granddaughter Su Yue, congratulations to Grandpa and Grandma on their golden wedding anniversary."
"Our Xiaoyue is so capable!" Su Jinli smiled as she hugged her granddaughter and kissed her on the forehead. "This painting should be hung in the most conspicuous place in the main hall!"
Xiaoyue raised her chin proudly, then suddenly remembered something and pulled out a cloth bag from her sleeve pocket: "Grandma, this is the sugar painting I bought for you and Grandpa with my New Year's money!"
Opening the cloth bag, she found two phoenixes and dragons, each outlined with sugar thread. Though the lines were a little crooked, they held a rich tapestry of love. Su Jinli gazed at the earthworm-like "dragon" and suddenly remembered the scene fifty years ago, when the young scholar in a green shirt had squatted on the ground in front of a sugar painting stall in the West Market of Beijing, trying to snatch a piece from her.
"Jinli, the dragon you drew looks like an earthworm."
"So what? It's better looking than your nerdy drawing of a phoenix!"
"Really? Then I'll give you this phoenix. I'll keep you as my own and protect you from getting into trouble in the future."
The sunlight at that time was just right, and it fell into his smiling eyes like a handful of shattered stars. Su Jinli's eyes suddenly warmed up, and she clutched the sugar painting tightly in her hands. The sweet fragrance of the sugar thread lingered in her nose, and it was as if she was back in that afternoon with the noisy chirping of cicadas.
"What's wrong, mother?" Nianli noticed her abnormality and asked with concern.
"It's okay," Su Jinli shook her head, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and smiled brighter than the sun. "I just feel that time flies by so fast."
Jiang Yan took the sugar dragon from her hand, brushed his fingertips over the rough sugar threads, and said in a voice so gentle that water could drip out: "Not fast, just right."
Yeah, just right.
Fifty years is enough time for a seedling to grow into a towering tree, long enough for a young couple to become grandparents with gray hair. During these fifty years, they had supported each other in times of poverty, weathered the turbulent officialdom, and faced the undercurrents of the imperial court. But always, there was a pair of warm hands, holding her through all the ups and downs.
She was once the most frustrated daughter of the prime minister's family, nearly doomed by her stepmother's schemes. But in a new life, she overturned the whirlwind of fate and grasped her own happiness. She experienced the frankness of grabbing sugar paintings on the street, the carefree spirit of forming a poetry club and writing storybooks, the exhilaration of riding a horse and outmaneuvering a frivolous young man. Finally, she met the man who was willing to squat on the street and give her the finest phoenix sugar paintings.
"Dad, Mom," Nianli suddenly spoke, tears in her eyes, "I'm happy for you."
Su Heng nodded vigorously, his voice choked with sobs: "Sister, brother-in-law, this life is worth it!"
Su Qingyao turned her face away, secretly wiped her eyes, and when she turned back, she still had that arrogant look on her face: "Alright, alright, you're so old and still crying, what a disgrace!"
Su Xiang looked at the harmonious family in front of him, stroked his beard and laughed heartily: "Good! Good! All good! Go, take out the jar of daughter's red wine that I have hidden for thirty years, and let's have a drink together tonight!"
Sunlight filtered through the branches of the pomegranate tree, casting dappled shadows on the blue brick floor. Su Jinli leaned on Jiang Yan's shoulder, listening to the laughter of her family and feeling the warmth of his arms. Suddenly, she felt as if the biting cold of her past life had transformed into the warmth of his palm in this life.
She once thought that rebirth was for revenge and justice, but now she understands that the greatest meaning of rebirth is that it gives her the opportunity to turn all the grievances into honey and savor the sweetness of the years with the person before her.
"Jiang Yan," she called him softly, "We'll spend the next fifty years together."
Jiang Yan lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, just as he had done countless times fifty years ago, his voice filled with a firm and gentle tone:
"Okay, it's a deal."
A few more pomegranate petals fell from the courtyard, landing on the backs of their clasped hands, much like the rouge he'd accidentally smeared on her when he'd been drawing her eyebrows. Their golden wedding anniversary was approaching, the years were peaceful, and all the past, in this smile between them, had become the mellowest wine, the sweetest candy.
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