"Are they setting off fireworks?" Jiang Sheng asked, holding a cabbage and mutton bun, heading to the courtyard to watch the festivities.
Changyan held her down and gently shook his head.
"It sounds like a knock on the door, but all my relatives and friends are here. Who else could it be?" Zheng Ruqian wondered.
Xu Mo, who had just sat down, sighed, stood up again, and resignedly lay back down on the bed.
"Brother, don't be in such a hurry," Changyan said calmly. "Let's see who it is first."
Jiang San and Jiang Si had already cautiously gone over, and the others were also standing at the door looking around.
As the wooden bolt fell, the gate slowly opened, revealing a slender figure and a tall, imposing carriage typical of aristocratic families. Who else could it be but Tan Yue from the Jiang family?
Jiang Sheng was astonished.
As the year drew to a close, she thought that Old Madam Jiang would definitely want to spend the New Year with her, but there were also four older brothers in the courtyard, and her eldest brother, Xu Mo, was someone she couldn't help but worry about.
In order to conceal her feigned illness and to balance the needs of both families, Jiang Sheng made a decision after much deliberation—to spend the 30th of the month in the small courtyard and visit the Jiang family to keep the old lady company on the first day of the new year.
She even prepared the two lamb legs that she used to give her grandmother a taste of.
As a result, Tan Yue appeared here.
"Is Grandmother sick? Or is something wrong?" Jiang Sheng became visibly anxious, and the steamed bun in her hand lost its appeal. She ran to Wen Zhiyun in a few steps.
Seeing that the frail young doctor was about to be dragged to the Jiang family, Tan Yue hurriedly spoke up, "No, miss, the old lady is fine."
Jiang Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and released her fourth brother with a guilty conscience.
Tan Yue turned around, waved to He Rui in the carriage, and then gestured to Jiang San and Jiang Si to open the door wider.
The large carriage barely squeezed through the doorway, and the open gate was closed again.
Only then did everyone realize that the horse was exhausted and the carriage seemed to be loaded with heavy loads.
"Let's move the things first," Tan Yue said to everyone. "The old lady knows that you shouldn't be extravagant this year, so she specifically asked me to deliver them after dark."
The fully loaded cart was filled with countless pieces of meat, several bolts of new satin, rice, flour, cooking oil, pastries, and vegetables—all things that should have been prepared for the New Year but had not been for various reasons.
There was also a small sandalwood box, which Tan Yue personally carried and delivered.
Opening the clasp reveals three new hairpins crafted with intricate silk wrapping techniques, adorned with two pearl necklaces—all made of the finest materials and representing the most fashionable jewelry of the moment.
"The old lady instructed that once Scholar Xu receives the top score in the provincial examination, he can wear the new clothes and jewelry as he pleases. For now, please keep them as a New Year's gift from the old lady." Tan Yue handed them over with a smile.
Jiang Sheng stared blankly at one of the gold hairpins with intertwined flowers and birds, feeling that it was very similar to Jiang Chenghuan's, but much more exquisite and precious.
"The old lady also said that whatever other girls have, our Jiang family girls also have," Tan Yue added meaningfully.
Jiang Sheng herself could hardly remember what happened in that instant, but Old Madam Jiang knew about it and kept it in her heart.
I can't quite describe the feeling; a bittersweet sensation rises in my heart, accompanied by an indescribable swelling, as if it might burst open at any moment, splitting into two hearts.
"Do you like it, young lady?" Tan Yue picked up the gold hairpin with intricate floral and bird designs and carefully placed it in Jiang Sheng's hair. "It looks really good."
In fact, Jiang Sheng couldn't see it; she didn't have a bronze mirror, nor even a basin of water.
But for some reason, I'm certain it's exceptionally beautiful.
Because she has everything that other girls have.
Jiang Sheng grinned, her nose and eyes stinging with tears.
That initial envy, rising with the wind, eventually dissipated with it.
The things had been mostly moved. Tan Yue got up again, took a sachet from He Rui, and put it into Jiang Sheng's hand. "This is the young lady's New Year's money."
The reason I don't carry it on my person is because it's really heavy.
If Jiang Sheng hadn't been strong, she probably would have fallen to the ground.
Of the six siblings, only Fang Heng received fifty taels of gold ingots from his aunt a couple of years ago, which made the other five siblings extremely envious.
Now, it's finally Jiang Sheng's turn.
It's so heavy, I wonder how many ounces it weighs.
Under Tan Yue's encouraging gaze, Jiang Sheng carefully opened the purse and saw a gold ingot the size of her palm, twice the size of the fifty-tael ingot she had seen before.
"Wow, one hundred taels of gold!" Zheng Ruqian exclaimed. "Jiang Sheng, you're going to strike it rich!"
According to the gold-silver exchange rate of the Dayu Dynasty, these could be exchanged for at least a thousand taels of silver. Although they already had many thousand taels of silver, this was the first time they had ever seen such a high annual allowance.
It's not just gold, but a grandmother's love for her granddaughter.
There was also a whole carload of food and drink supplies, and nine out of ten identical gold hairpins with intricate patterns; each item had taken considerable effort to acquire.
"Sister Tan Yue," Jiang Sheng said, clutching the gold tightly, "please take good care of Grandmother for me."
"Don't worry, young lady." Tan Yue stood up. "Since we've conveyed everything we needed to, we'll be leaving now."
To avoid being noticed, they came and went in a hurry.
Jiang Sheng was reluctant to part with him.
Zhang Xianglian also chimed in, "Let's eat before you leave, the New Year's Eve dinner is freshly made."
"No, the old lady is waiting for me." Tan Yue patted Jiang Sheng's head. "Miss, take good care of yourself."
The closed gate was opened, revealing a bustling street with pedestrians, hanging red lanterns, and the sound of firecrackers.
It's hard to imagine what Madam Jiang was doing on such a beautiful New Year's Eve.
Is it better to eat with a daughter-in-law and granddaughter with whom one has a strained relationship, or to sit alone in the ancestral hall to worship one's ancestors?
She was such a lonely old woman. She used to have her grandson with whom she could talk and laugh, but now he is far away.
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