“It’s often said that the oldest and the youngest children are the most doted on. Uncle and Aunt care so much about you. Even though your material life is a bit lacking now, once Uncle and Jiang Miao finish the autumn exams, everything will improve. What exactly are you afraid of?”
“If Uncle and Aunt had cared so much about me back then, would I have needed to make plans for myself? Jiang Xing, you really don’t appreciate the blessings you have.”
Jiang Chan spoke bluntly. To be fair, money is just an external possession. If Jiang Mu and his wife had shown the original owner a bit of kindness, the original owner wouldn’t have held so much resentment.
On the contrary, Jiang Xing, who was always pampered, only saw money and other external possessions, completely ignoring Jiang Mu and Wang Shi’s sincere intentions.
Jiang Chan sighed, “Think about it yourself. You don’t need to mention the maid’s matters again. Uncle and Aunt would never agree. They care so much about you. Now go. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said.”
Jiang Xing, concerned about her future, didn’t dare to stay long and left dejectedly. Jiang Chan watched her departing figure and shook her head. In the end, she’s still an immature girl.
The original owner was envious of Jiang Xing. She once truly liked her younger sister, only to be deeply disappointed later. The original owner knew Jiang Xing often sabotaged her in front of Wang Shi, but she always thought Jiang Xing was still young and would understand when she grew up.
Unfortunately, the original owner was disappointed that even until her death, Jiang Xing never improved. The original owner was utterly disillusioned with her but had no wish for Jiang Chan to retaliate against Jiang Xing, just a deep desire to distance herself from Jiang Mu’s family.
In essence, what she hated most was herself, for not knowing how to fight back. If she had been a bit stronger and fought for herself, the original owner wouldn’t have led such a miserable life.
Thus, Jiang Chan’s final task was born: to live a respectable life. Jiang Chan didn’t quite understand what that meant without a reference point, so she could only follow her own understanding.
Now that she had left Jiang Mu’s family and the dim sum shop was on track, the remaining task was to ensure that the old widower faced retribution. However, how to go about this required careful planning.
The room quieted down. Jiang Chan sat by the window reading a book, with Zhou Xing doing embroidery below her. This little girl’s embroidery skills were far better than Jiang Chan’s, who would prick her finger with every stitch.
Currently, the sachets and handkerchiefs Jiang Chan wore were mostly embroidered by Zhou Xing. The little girl enjoyed doing these things, and Jiang Chan didn’t mind as she didn’t have much else to do.
Hearing no more sounds inside, a figure quietly left. He looked about sixteen or seventeen, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. If Jiang Chan saw him, she would recognize him as Li Yifei, the son of Li Ruisi.
Li Yifei hadn’t intended to eavesdrop. He had come with his parents and grandmother to attend Jiang Chan’s coming-of-age ceremony. After the ceremony, he couldn’t resist the temptation to find some food in Jiang Sen’s kitchen.
Unfortunately, never having been to the kitchen, he ended up at Jiang Chan’s room and overheard her conversation with Jiang Xing. Hearing Jiang Chan bluntly say she wouldn’t let Jiang Xing be a burden while living off Jiang Sen, Li Yifei found her quite interesting.
He knew some things about Jiang Chan, such as her being adopted. He also knew more, like how the dishes at Mingyue Tower were her creations and that she was the real owner behind Jiang’s Dim Sum.
Ordinary people, when achieving something, would broadcast it to everyone, but not Jiang Chan. She wanted to hide as deeply as possible.
This made Li Yifei curious about her. How could such a young girl be so mature and composed?
Especially after hearing the latter part of Jiang Chan’s conversation with Jiang Xing, Li Yifei could tell Jiang Chan valued emotions deeply, whereas her sister Jiang Xing was vain and opportunistic.
Two sisters from the same mother had such vastly different personalities. Li Yifei shook his head. Then he mocked himself for thinking too much about other people’s affairs.
Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on Jiang Chan’s door. Zhou Xing opened it to find Jiang He standing outside. Scratching his head, he handed Jiang Chan a small wooden box. Inside was a finely crafted jewelry box with carved patterns of flowers, birds, insects, and fish, very exquisite.
Such a jewelry box would cost several hundred wen in a shop. From the craftsmanship, it seemed Jiang He had carved it himself.
Jiang Chan examined it carefully, “Thank you, cousin. Your skills are getting better. You’ll probably be a master soon.”
Jiang He smiled shyly, blushing slightly as he glanced at Zhou Xing standing beside Jiang Chan. The young girl looked at the jewelry box in Jiang Chan’s hand with envy, her face full of smiles, obviously happy for Jiang Chan.
Jiang He awkwardly pulled a small wooden carving from his sleeve and handed it to Zhou Xing. Jiang Chan noticed it was a little rabbit. Knowing Zhou Xing was born in the year of the rabbit, she understood.
Seeing the nervous Jiang He, Jiang Chan got it immediately. Ancient people matured early, she thought. Zhou Xing was still so young, yet he already knew to act quickly.
Jiang Chan glanced at the still naive Zhou Xing. The little girl was only eleven, not understanding these things yet. She put away the jewelry box, “Xing Xing, escort Cousin He out. I’ll read for a bit longer.”
Zhou Xing obediently led Jiang He out, who gave Jiang Chan a grateful look before following Zhou Xing in silence.
Jiang Chan flipped through a book and glanced at the blooming peach blossoms outside the window. All the peach blossoms have bloomed; spring has indeed arrived.
Since Jiang Chan’s coming-of-age ceremony, matchmakers had been breaking down the door of Jiang Sen’s house with proposals. Most were friends of Jiang Sen. It was not good for Lin Shi to reject this or that.
Besieged by so many matchmakers, Lin Shi brought all the young men’s portraits to Jiang Chan, asking her to choose.
Upon hearing Lin Shi’s request, Jiang Chan’s face twisted. She was only fifteen, still three years away from adulthood by modern standards.
Unexpectedly, in ancient times, she was already of marriageable age. Jiang Chan sternly said, “Mother, I’m still young. There’s no rush to get married. I want to stay by you and Father’s side forever.”
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