Chapter 47 What a perfect couple, they even have a child...
The morning sunlight is always so bright and radiant, with golden rays slanting across a small courtyard.
The birds on the wall were thus adorned with a colorful coat. They stood in a row, chirping and chattering, as if celebrating the festival, or as if they were eagerly waiting for the people inside to come out.
"Sister, sister is out! Grandfather, Father, look!"
Tiger jumped up and down with joy, as all the men of the Jiang family in the courtyard had been waiting for a long time.
Today is the Flower Festival, and all the women are supposed to dress up nicely, so Jiang Shuifu took the initiative to do the makeup and eyebrows of all the women in the mansion.
This inevitably took a while.
With a creak, the door opened shyly, and the woman inside slowly appeared.
First was my aunt. Although she was old, she was plump and graceful. She wore a light purple silk dress, and her hair was tied up with a wisteria flower hairpin. Her makeup was heavy but not gaudy, and a pure white magnolia flower ornament adorned her brow. She was charming yet fresh. A purplish-red silk ribbon was tied around her wrist.
The uncle was stunned for a moment, and immediately jumped up and stood still, forgetting to greet him.
It wasn't until his aunt came to his side and playfully tugged at his ear that he snapped out of his daze and quietly took her hand and touched it.
Before they could even hold hands for a short while, Doujie and Xiaomeibao ran out, their outfits looking much cuter.
She had her hair styled in a hanging bun, with many sparkly and lifelike butterflies adorning both sides.
One of them had her hair styled in a bun, and her head was covered with candy beads in pale yellow and rosy red. She looked absolutely adorable.
They ran to their parents, begging for praise and hugs. The uncle could only steal a kiss before picking up the two little devils.
Finally, Jiang Shuifu helped her grandmother out, and the whole room fell silent instantly, everyone staring wide-eyed. Even the grandfather was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
Tiger exclaimed loudly, "Wow! Grandmother is so beautiful! She's even more beautiful than the prettiest girl in the school!"
Grandmother was amused and burst into laughter, unable to resist teasing him: "Who is Miao Xiaoniang? Our Tiger is so interested in her!"
Tiger stopped talking and instead hid his head, a scene that made everyone laugh out loud.
Jiang Shuifu specially applied a thin layer of powder to her grandmother today. She was dressed in a jade-embroidered emerald robe, and the jade hairpin in her hair had been replaced with a green peony hairpin. She looked at least ten years younger.
Jiang Shuifu was very satisfied with her cooking skills and personally led her grandmother to her grandfather:
"Grandfather, does Grandmother look beautiful today? You must hold her hand tightly and not let go for even a moment, otherwise some other old man will snatch her away!"
Grandfather smiled and took Grandmother's hand, "When is your old woman not beautiful!"
Seeing her family laughing and chatting happily, she was very happy. Today they were going to go on a spring outing together.
Compared to everyone else, Jiang Shuifu's attire was the simplest. She had her jet-black hair braided into a side braid, adorned with a few warm yellow flowers and interspersed with beads of the same color. A red silk ribbon was tied around her wrist.
But even in simple clothes and plain hairpins, her beauty could not be concealed.
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They arrived at the spring outing site, where a vast expanse of golden-flecked peach blossoms stretched as far as the eye could see, a truly magnificent sight. Jiang Shuifu eagerly jumped off the carriage, her little sister Bao following closely behind with a bamboo basket, excitedly saying:
"Little sister wants to pick flowers to make sweet cakes! Big sister and I will go together!"
Jiang Shuifu pinched her cheek, her eyes crinkling with a smile, and pretended not to respond.
"My little sister's legs are too short; she probably can't even reach the top of the branch. I'm not going with you!"
There are so many people today; looking around, there isn't a single peach tree without someone under it.
Everyone hung the colorful paper and silk they brought on the branches, and Jiang Shuifu and the Jiang family also chose a high branch to hang up.
This is a custom of the Flower Festival, where people admire the red flowers in order to pray for abundant blooms and trees.
After the silk ribbons were hung up, the grandparents went to rest in a special open-air pavilion, while the uncle and aunt went to enjoy the flowers and have a secret rendezvous, away from the children.
Doujie and Huge went to play with their friends of the same age, but Xiaomeibao was too young, so Jiang Shuifu had to take care of her herself.
She kept circling around Jiang Shuifu, who found a sturdy, tall, and obviously old crooked peach tree. With a wave of her hand, she picked the flowers from the lower branches.
"Wow, sister is amazing! I want to pick some too!"
She was so excited that she jumped up and grabbed at the peach blossoms with her little hands, eager to pick one herself, but she couldn't. Then she started to sob.
Jiang Shuifu picked her up before she could cry out. As soon as the little girl opened her eyes, she saw pink and white peach blossoms within reach, and she finally picked one.
"Little sister, you must eat a lot of sweet cakes every day, your older sister can hardly carry you anymore!"
Jiang Shuifu joked.
Little Sister Bao was laughing happily, tossing peach blossoms one after another into the bamboo basket. Jiang Shuifu also picked a few with her other hand, but after only a stick of incense, her strength in her hand grew weaker and weaker, and Little Sister Bao kept moving around, so she put her down.
"My little darling, shall I pick some for you, sir?"
Jiang Shuifu immediately got up and picked the bigger and more vibrant flowers for her.
But Mei Bao kept insisting on picking the fruit herself, and when Jiang Shui Fu wasn't paying attention, she started climbing the tree on all fours. Luckily, the tree was slightly crooked, making it easier for Mei Bao to climb. In just a few breaths, she had climbed from the thick trunk to the branch. When Jiang Shui Fu turned her head, she saw this chilling scene.
At this moment, Mei Bao had climbed to almost the same height as her!
She tried to control herself from screaming so as not to frighten her baby, but the next moment, as she went to pick her up, the baby suddenly slipped, her little hands went awry, and she fell backward into the air.
Jiang Shuifu immediately reached out to protect her, but she couldn't keep up with the speed at which the other woman fell.
Those around, including the grandparents, noticed the scene and gasped in shock.
Just as Mei Bao was about to do a backflip and fall to the ground, at the critical moment, a very strong hand appeared and caught her accurately and quickly.
Meibao cried like a little kitten, terrified. Even after being held in someone's arms, she continued to sob loudly, determined to make a complete ruckus. A strong, large hand gently patted her back, soothing her.
"Don't cry, or I'll buy you candied hawthorns."
Little Bao gradually stopped crying. She raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and pointed to the peach blossoms above her head: "I want flowers... pretty flowers!"
Jiang Shuifu breathed a sigh of relief and cast a glance at her grandparents not far away, indicating that they were safe.
The man who rescued Mei Bao gently lifted her up a bit, and she immediately burst into laughter. At this height, she could easily pick whichever flower she wanted. He even picked a flower bud and tucked it behind her ear.
Jiang Shuifu then noticed the person who had come. He was dressed in light gray cloth, covered in mud and ash. There were also wormwood stalks scattered on the ground not far away. It was obvious that he had gone to pick vegetables and had returned with a full load. Each clump of wormwood was fluffy and full of vitality.
This is also a custom of the Flower Festival, but she never expected that he, a general, would do such farm work.
Unlike before, when she would immediately berate him upon meeting him, this time she sincerely thanked him:
"Thank you, He Beiqing. We are very grateful to you today. Meibao is the youngest in our family, so we spoil her a bit. Please put her down."
He Beiqing's eyes lit up when she heard this. This was the first time she had shown him such emotions other than rejection and anger. Upon closer inspection, there was gratitude, vulnerability, and a vague, uncertain dependence.
He suddenly understood; no wonder heroes have always loved to rescue damsels in distress.
His eyes flickered with subtle emotions, while the little baby in his arms refused to get down, clinging tightly to his clothes.
Jiang Shuifu simply reached out to hug her. Just as her hand was about to grasp Meibao, the man's eyes shone even brighter, and he leaped onto the thick trunk of the peach tree.
Meibao, nestled in his arms, looked down at everything beneath the tree in awe, speechless for a moment.
Jiang Shuifu was stunned, her outstretched hands also froze, wondering how the person had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
When she came to her senses, she looked up in disbelief and saw the fear in her younger sister's eyes. She shouted anxiously:
"What's wrong with you! Always climbing trees! Put my little sister down right now! She's so delicate! She's scared!"
She discovered that He Beiqing liked to climb trees and walls, like an unruly monkey, and had lost all the seriousness and discipline he had shown when he was ordered to go to Suyang.
However, in his eyes, her annoyance was nothing more than that of a silly little girl.
At this moment, the "fearful" little girl suddenly clapped her hands excitedly: "Wow! So beautiful, all flowers, all butterflies, they're all mine!"
Jiang Shuifu's tension vanished instantly. Meibao wasn't scared at all; she clearly loved it. Feeling a little annoyed, she crossed her arms and decided to ignore them.
He Beiqing could protect Mei Bao from playing and laughing in his arms without her having to, and Jiang Shuifu knew this too.
He wrapped one arm around Mei Bao with his hand, and reached down with the other, a radiant smile curving his red lips:
"Loneliness and idle sorrow are plentiful, and the falling petals are a rare sight. People are more beautiful than flowers and more delightful. Would you like to come up, Miss Fu?"
Jiang Shuifu didn't even glance at his hand before running away.
He Beiqing's eyes followed her until she ran out of the peach grove, at which point he could no longer see her.
He withdrew his gaze, breathing slowly and leisurely. The warm sun, the gentle breeze, the fragrance of flowers, and the shadows of people drifted into his heart.
He only looked up when he heard a girl's sweet voice coming from under the tree.
"Little sister, come down and chase the butterflies!"
The girl under the tree looked up at him, holding a sheath... Her younger sister, with her eyes crinkled with a bewitching smile, ran off as soon as she finished speaking, holding the sheath high in one hand and waving to them with the other.
She ran with great joy, the wind blowing her skirt, which brushed against the flowers and grass on the ground, stirring up a surge of emotion.
The girl's eyes and brows blossomed, and butterflies of all colors fluttered around her, swirled around her, and laughed around her.
Looking back, it's all so vibrant and beautiful.
Suddenly, a butterfly landed on the man's fingertip in the tree, and he smiled faintly.
On the other side of the pavilion, the grandparents were brewing tea and drinking it together, enjoying themselves immensely.
Because the two people admiring the scenery in the tree were chasing butterflies below, they were quite conspicuous, drawing envious glances from those present. One woman nudged the newlywed man beside her:
"What a perfect couple! So young, and they already have a child!"
After saying that, the woman gave the man a coquettish look, as if to tell him to work harder, and the man blushed.
Jiang Zongnan followed their gaze, his face instantly turning grim. He stood up, intending to go over but hesitating, unsure of what to do as his grandfather.
His grandmother handed him a cup of tea: "Let the child be. She's learned her lesson from being fooled once!"
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The spring outing ended quickly, and evening arrived soon after. Evening activities were even more plentiful, including lantern competitions and worship ceremonies for the Flower Goddess…
"Wow! Sister, are you the goddess of flowers descended to earth? So beautiful...so beautiful!"
"Look, it's the real Flower Goddess!"
"She's so beautiful, she doesn't seem like an ordinary woman!"
People passing by all stopped to watch. They saw a woman with her hair styled in a cloud-like bun, and on the right side of the bun were several pomegranate blossoms and leaves, the blossoms and leaves as red as fire and as green as bamboo.
Upon closer inspection, a gemstone's luster is hidden beneath the flowers and leaves—it's a fire garnet gemstone, its bright red luster unmatched by anything in the world.
In addition, a few strands of her dark hair hung down in front of her chest, slightly curled.
She wore a red silk and blue gauze dress that perfectly incorporated the colors of pomegranates, with red and orange petals and green and blue leaves. Not to mention her eyebrows, which were like smoke, her eyes like autumn water, and her clothes that seemed to bloom with flowers.
In an instant, she stood still, and all the lanterns paled in comparison to her brilliance.
She was also carrying a flower basket with a sparrow on it. The basket didn't contain large pomegranate blossoms, but rather fresh snow willow orchids and a few small pomegranate fruits, which she had crocheted herself. The sparrow was so lifelike that it seemed as if it could fly out of the basket.
Jiang Shuifu walked conspicuously to the lantern display area, and with a gentle flick of her finger, she hung the lantern on a tree branch.
The crowd erupted in excitement: "Look, that sparrow can actually move!"
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Author's Note: The male protagonist will appear in the next chapter.
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