Feiyan and the others, who came out to see what was happening, knew that the young master of the Jiang family had recognized Xiaoduo as his aunt, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
But now, seeing someone who looks several years older than his master kneeling and kowtowing to his mother, who just turned eighteen this year, to wish her a Happy New Year? That's a bit... a bit...
Besides, they all knew that their mother disliked people kneeling the most, even when they were giving her New Year's greetings, which meant bowing.
Look at her expression now, she looks like she has a toothache!
"Young Master Jiang, what are you doing? Your father didn't come with us, there's no need for this," Hong Xiaoduo said helplessly.
Jiang Baize stood up, straightened his robes, and said with a gentle smile, "Baize didn't kneel for Father's sake that day. He has already acknowledged his aunt, so that's enough."
Aunt, you may not know this, but after returning home that day, Father added your name to the family genealogy.
"What? You added me to your family tree? Is it possible to add people to a family tree like that?" Hong Xiaoduo was shocked.
"It's part of our family genealogy, and Father can make the decision. Even if you, Aunt, don't approve of this relationship, Father and I are serious about it," Jiang Baize said earnestly.
My God! Hong Xiaoduo sighed and rubbed her forehead. In her opinion, she had already accepted the other party's thank-you gift, so why did Master Jiang have to make such a big fuss?
"These are New Year's red envelopes that my father asked me to bring for my younger siblings," Jiang Baize said, then beckoned to a servant behind him, who stepped forward and put down the contents.
Lifting the lid of a gift box, one finds it filled with bright red brocade bags.
"It's rare to spend the New Year here. Even if I want to visit relatives and friends in the future, I don't know if I'll have the chance," Jiang Baize said cautiously when he saw that Hong Xiaoduo remained silent.
Since they had already said that, Hong Xiaoduo couldn't very well refuse.
"Come here and thank us..." she called to the children, but didn't know how to address Jiang Baize, or Young Master Jiang.
Upon hearing this, Tian Shu led his younger siblings forward and bowed to Jiang Baize with clasped hands, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Jiang, thank you, Brother Baize."
With Tian Shu leading the way, the other children followed suit and thanked him in unison.
Jiang Baize greeted them happily and handed each of them a heavy brocade bag.
Hong Xiaoduo glanced at Tian Shu and thought to herself, "Fine, I still called him 'brother' after all!"
After giving the children New Year's red envelopes, Jiang Baize didn't linger. As he was saying goodbye, Feiyan whispered to Hong Xiaoduo, "They're wishing you a Happy New Year, and as their aunt, aren't you going to give them a red envelope?"
Give him a red envelope? Are you really going to act like his aunt?
"Wait a moment, please take something to your father for me," Hong Xiaoduo had no choice but to say.
Back inside, I entered the space and, remembering that Master Jiang liked tea, I took a few more cans of famous teas. But I didn't know what Jiang Baize's preferences were; his family certainly wasn't short of money. After scanning the storage cabinets in the space, I found a gift box and put in a few chocolates, some mochi, a few egg tarts, and a Snickers bar. Just as I was about to leave the space, I saw a Rubik's Cube, picked it up, wrote down the solution, and put it in the gift box as well.
He came out carrying things in both hands: "Your father likes tea, and I don't have anything else of value, so these are for him."
After Jiang Baize thanked him, he took the item and handed it to a servant.
"I didn't prepare anything. Here are some snacks and a little trinket for you," Hong Xiaoduo said, handing over the gift box.
As an elder who is an "aunt," it's appropriate for me to give snacks, treats, and toys to the younger generation, right?
Huh? He actually gave me a gift? Jiang Baize was a little surprised. After accepting the gift and thanking him, the servant behind him hurriedly reached out to take it for him. However, his young master did not seem to intend to hand it to anyone. The servant blinked and then withdrew his hand.
Tian Shu saw the guests off in place of Hong Xiaoduo. Inside the courtyard, Hong Xiaoduo watched as Yao Guang took the lead in untying the brocade bag and taking out the contents, and shook her head helplessly.
In the children's brocade pouches were ten taels of silver ingots, and a piece of jade as black as ink.
Although Hong Xiaoduo wasn't very knowledgeable about jade, Feiyan was, saying it was the finest black jade. This jade had a deep, elegant color, fine texture, and was hard and resistant to wear; a piece of this quality would cost at least a thousand taels of silver.
After hearing Fei Yan's words, Hong Xiaoduo did the math and realized that the other party had given nearly eight thousand taels of silver just for paying New Year's greetings—that was quite a generous gesture!
I only offered them tea, a few snacks and desserts, plus a Rubik's Cube. Wasn't that a bit stingy?
Feiyan, standing to the side, was thinking about where Xiaoduo had left the things she was carrying when she came out of the room. She wondered how she had never seen them when she cleaned the room every day.
On the carriage returning home, Jiang Baize held the gift box and kept smiling. The little "aunt" that his father had asked him to recognize actually treated him like a junior and gave him snacks and trinkets.
However, receiving this return gift evoked a strange feeling in him. He had never received a gift from an "elder" before. He wanted to open it now, but after thinking about it, he restrained himself and decided to look at it slowly when he returned home…
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