It has been three days since I returned from the gates of the imperial city.
Jiang Sheng kept quiet about returning to the Jiang family, and no one from the Jiang family came to pick her up. Only He Rui was left to guard the luxurious carriage, pitifully squatting at the entrance of the second courtyard.
Aunt Zhang was kind-hearted and let him sleep in the same room with Jiang San and Jiang Si, and she also made sure he got a share of the meals she cooked every day.
He Rui almost thought that was it, and even secretly felt sorry for the girl.
Until Jiang Sheng said, "Take me to the Jiang family."
What a wonderful girl! She's finally come to terms with accepting the Jiang family's wealth and status.
Before He Rui could even feel overjoyed, he suddenly remembered that Jiang Sheng had used "go" instead of "return," so he suppressed his joy and asked with a bitter face, "Are you really going, miss?"
Jiang Sheng nodded calmly.
Beside her were three young masters with clenched fists, and Aunt Zhang, who looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
He Rui could only cautiously pull out the reins, cautiously tug at the horse, and wait cautiously at the entrance of the second courtyard.
"Jiang Sheng." Xu Mo's calm voice was tinged with suppressed pain. "If the price of me retaking the exam is that you do something you don't want to do, then I would rather hand over the Yuan to someone else."
"Little sister, will I never see you again?" Wen Zhiyun's eyes welled up with tears, and her hand trembled as she took his pulse.
Chang Yan pursed his lips. "We have other ways to thank the Jiang family."
They don't necessarily have to be compensated with a beautiful young woman.
What makes us human is that we have emotions and choices.
People are not objects; you can't just give them away and take them back, or throw them away and bring them home.
In the past, child traffickers tricked countless children away from their parents and sold them to other families. It would take decades to find them, or they might never find them at all.
Those who cannot find their way are consumed by grief, but what about those who can?
The most beloved child is a stranger, calling out to someone else's parents. When encountering blood relatives again, the only response is a puzzled question: "Who are you looking for?"
This is unavoidable, but it is also reality.
Jiang Sheng stumbled and struggled for seven years, spending four years with her brothers. Her life did not belong to the Jiang family, nor to the pavilions and towers hidden behind high walls.
Even if the Fang family doesn't give up easily next year, and even if countless difficulties await them, the siblings can overcome them together.
"Don't go, don't go, Xiao Jiang Sheng," Zhang Xianglian choked out.
Seeing that Chang Yan and Xu Mo's eyes were also a little red, Wang Xiaozhu and Jiang San and Jiang Si secretly wiped away their tears.
Jiang Sheng suddenly put her hands on her hips and said, "It's not like I'm not coming back. Why are you being so sentimental? Does the Jiang family eat children? Do they eat every one that comes in?"
Zhang Xianglian was at a loss for words, tears streaming down her face, unsure whether to wipe them away or let them fall.
Wen Zhiyun sniffed and finally stopped crying.
Xu Mo and Chang Yan were the most thoughtful, but they also clearly showed some helplessness.
"That's right, relax. I'll share what I've learned from the Jiang family with you." The young girl patted her chest, didn't dare to turn around, and hurriedly got into the Jiang family's luxurious carriage.
Someone is calling from behind.
"Jiang Sheng."
She just sat there blankly, letting the sound fade away until it disappeared completely.
After an unknown amount of time, He Rui stopped the carriage and carefully reminded her, "Miss, we have arrived at the Jiang residence."
Jiang Sheng seemed to wake from a dream. After checking her attire and finding no flaws, she gently jumped off the carriage.
He Rui had already stepped forward and knocked on the door. It was the same doorman from the Jiang family, who still only opened the door a crack and asked in a low voice, "Who are you looking for?"
"Don't look for anyone, just say that the eldest daughter of the Jiang family has returned." He Rui's usual slickness vanished, replaced by an air of righteous indignation.
The gatekeeper was startled and, without thinking, ran inside as fast as he could.
As he passed by several head maids, he startled them, and they all started scolding him, "Running around like this in the mansion, what kind of behavior is this!"
The gatekeeper hurriedly tossed out a few words, "The girl is back."
They disappeared around the corner.
"The young lady is back?" The head maid in purple asked, somewhat puzzled. "Did the young lady go out?"
“The young lady hasn’t gone out.” The head maid in yellow shook her head. “Ever since she fell ill a while ago, she hasn’t left the house even once, and she’s become much quieter.”
"What's gotten into this gatekeeper again?" The head maid in pink held up a teacup. "I'm here to get the bird's nest for you, Miss. I'm sure you've been with Madam the whole time."
The group chatted and laughed as they walked onto the bluestone path leading directly to the gate.
Jiang Sheng and He Rui stood quietly in front of the wide-open gates of the mansion, waiting.
In wealthy households, there is an unwritten rule: distinguished guests are invited directly into the main hall to wait, regular guests are led directly to the host's courtyard, and ordinary guests are invited into the gatehouse to wait.
Those who waited outside the door, dressed in very ordinary clothes, could only be poor relatives trying to freeload.
"I wonder whose house it is, they just went through the front door like that." They muttered to themselves, their eyes filled with disdain. "If you're going to freeload, you should go through the back door."
"Forget it, it's better to avoid trouble. They're not going to take advantage of us anyway."
The group left laughing and chatting, their clothes jingling as they went, making them seem even more wealthy than the young ladies from ordinary noble families.
Back to the main courtyard.
The maid in pink was the first to bring the bird's nest soup into the room.
The maids in purple and yellow were still gossiping about the poor relatives who had been trying to freeload off them.
"What are you whispering about, so happy?" Madam Jiang said casually as she trimmed the flowers. "Tell the Third Miss to hear it, just to relieve her boredom."
A maid in pink was blowing on the bird's nest to cool down the pale and pitiful Jiang Chenghuan.
The maid in purple had already begun to describe it with her sharp tongue, "We passed by the gate and found a pair of poor relatives who were trying to freeload. They were dressed in rags, but they were quite fat. I guess they've been begging quite a bit. I wonder which courtyard the poor thing is from. I'm afraid they've already taken all their money this month."
Madam Jiang smiled but didn't say anything.
"And the gatekeeper, I don't know what's gotten into him, yelling at the top of his lungs that the young lady is back." The maid in yellow retorted, "If those freeloaders outside were dressed more richly, we would have been fooled."
“Yes, yes, Miss Mingming is sitting right here…” the maid in purple echoed.
Madam Jiang paused in her flower-pruning motion, a complex emotion creeping onto her face, masking her previous nonchalance.
Jiang Chenghuan, who had just received the bird's nest bowl, trembled so much that most of the bowl of fine bird's nest fell onto the quilt and rolled to the ground, breaking into five pieces with a "crack".
The girl is back.
They're really back.
The same message was received at Deren Courtyard, the courtyard where Madam Jiang lived.
Tan Yue was searching for black hair among the silver strands when she suddenly heard the gatekeeper's howl. Her hand trembled, and she plucked out one of the old lady Jiang's two remaining black hairs.
She didn't even have time to feel sorry or apologize. She hurriedly put on her embroidered shoes and helped the over-fifty-year-old Madam Jiang walk briskly.
"Slow down, slow down, there's still time." The young and strong Tan Yue almost couldn't keep up.
Madam Jiang remained silent and strode forward.
Finally, after walking from Deren Courtyard to the gate of Jiang Mansion, the radiant young girl, bathed in the rising sun, stepped across the threshold, transcending time and space, and stood before her, bowing gracefully and calling out to her.
"grandmother."
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