Chapter 45

The rosy glow spilling from the lantern lent a touch of color to her snow-white complexion, yet she remained stunningly beautiful.
Jiang Yi had never denied her beauty.
In his life, he had encountered very few women, aside from his mother, there were almost no others. If he had to add one, it might be the round-faced, almond-eyed little girl who had helped him when he got lost two years ago while following Fifth Uncle Jiang in the capital.
She was younger than him, with chubby cheeks that made it hard to judge whether she was pretty or not, she simply looked adorable.
But Yan Yiming was different. She was already of marriageable age, exquisitely beautiful, a few years older than him, and even taller. Jiang Yi couldn’t regard her as a mature woman like his mother, nor could he see her as a naive little girl. In his heart, Yan Yiming occupied a place even he couldn’t quite explain.
Now, with her smiling face, she looked at him and said, “Let’s stay up together to see the New Year in.” Jiang Yi’s heart, cold and lonely all evening, suddenly felt as if a spark had ignited. He asked her in disbelief, “Why are you here?”
“Grandmother dislikes you and doesn’t care for me either. We’re both outcasts, so of course we should celebrate the New Year together,” Yan Yiming said with a playful blink. “What’s the fun in being with them? I made an excuse that I wasn’t feeling well and went back to rest. Have you eaten anything?”
Jiang Yi shook his head, his mind still in a jumble.
Even though Old Madam Jiang disliked him, he knew that Lord Jiang and Lady Jiang doted on Yan Yiming as if she were the apple of their eye. He was an outsider living under their roof, but she was not.
“How can you go hungry on New Year’s Eve?” Yan Yiming stood up, took his hand, and led him out of the room, back to her courtyard.
Because her courtyard was somewhat remote, Lady Jiang had specially permitted her to have a small kitchen. Lan Xiu brought out a plate of boiled dumplings. Jiang Yi bit into one and felt something hard against his teeth.
A copper coin was hidden inside the dumpling.
Lan Xiu explained with a smile, “Miss said that if we put a copper coin in the dumplings, whoever finds it will have the best luck.”
Yan Yiming, resting her chin on her hand, nodded and repeated, “Yes, the best luck.”
For a moment, Jiang Yi thought to himself that meeting her was already the greatest fortune.
The dumplings Lan Xiu made were delicious, but Yan Yiming didn’t eat a single bite. She took a bowl of medicine from Lan Xiu, frowned, and drank it all in one go.
Jiang Yi immediately wanted to ask why she was taking medicine, but then he suddenly remembered, Yan Yiming had been born with a congenital weakness. He recalled how, on his first day at the Jiang residence, Second Lady Jiang had sharply remarked that she wouldn’t live many years.
His heart ached with a sudden, piercing pain.
Seeing the abrupt change in his expression, Yan Yiming gently comforted him, “I’m used to it, it doesn’t taste bitter anymore.”
Perhaps because she had always acted like an adult around him, teasing him yet caring for him, he had often overlooked her slender frame and excessively pale complexion.
She said she was used to it by now, she had been drinking it for so many years, yet the medicine had never once been stopped.
She wouldn’t live much longer. Fifth Master Jiang had said so, Second Lady Jiang had said so, and even a maid had mentioned it on her first day in the mansion. Words she had never paid attention to before now echoed in her ears and etched themselves into her heart.
They could never be erased.
Yan Yiming kept Jiang Yi with her for the New Year. Though others might not know, it was impossible to hide this from Lord and Lady Jiang.
Lady Jiang cautiously glanced outside, making sure Lord Jiang was not in sight, then pulled her daughter aside and asked, “How can an unmarried young lady like you bring him to your quarters?”
It seemed Lady Jiang didn’t know, this wasn’t the first time.
Yan Yiming smiled faintly and said, “Jiang Yi is a member of our clan, my younger brother. What’s there to avoid between cousins? Besides, he’s still so young.”
Lady Jiang had spoken impulsively, but after saying it, she found it amusing. Though Jiang Yi wasn’t related by blood, he was still recognized as Fifth Master Jiang’s son, and he was indeed still very young.
“But your father doesn’t like this child,” Lady Jiang sighed.
She understood why her daughter took special care of Jiang Yi. In this household, Yan Yiming had two older brothers, but they were much older than her. The fourth young lady, who was closer in age, was born of a concubine. Yan Yiming had a reserved temperament, while the fourth young lady was lively and outgoing, the two were not close.
Jiang Yi was a few years younger than Yan Yiming and, like her, had a quiet and distant disposition. Back then, Yan Yiming had happened to see him standing pitifully in the snow, which stirred her compassion, and she had been looking after him ever since.
Unlike Old Madam Jiang, who harbored resentment toward Jiang Yi’s mother, Lady Jiang did not dislike Jiang Yi without reason. So, she didn’t see anything wrong with Yan Yiming being close to him.
But Lord Jiang disapproved.
Lady Jiang held her daughter’s hand, noticing the prominent blue veins against her pale skin, and her heart ached again. She had intended to persuade her, but the words caught in her throat.
She didn’t know how much longer her daughter would live. Yan Yiming had never taken the initiative to care for anyone before, Jiang Yi was the first.
As long as her daughter was happy, why should she try to dissuade her?
As for Lord Jiang, she would find a way to talk to him later.
Unexpectedly, Yan Yiming reached out and grasped Lady Jiang’s hand, saying, “I’ll speak to Father myself. If I can’t persuade him, Mother, you can help me then.”
Lady Jiang hesitated for a moment before telling her to go to the study to find Lord Jiang.
Lord Jiang sat at his desk, his already stern face now even more intimidating as he frowned. When he saw his daughter enter, his tense expression involuntarily softened, but remembering that he needed to reprimand her, he abruptly hardened his expression again.
Little A hid to the side, watching as Lord Jiang’s smile abruptly vanished from his lips, and she couldn’t hold back her wild laughter. Yan Yiming endured Little A’s sudden fit of hilarity and took a seat in the chair opposite Lord Jiang.
As soon as Lord Jiang looked up and saw his daughter’s well-behaved appearance, he found it hard to maintain his stern expression. After going back and forth like this a few times, he finally sighed helplessly. “You’ve never spoken a gentle word to your own younger brothers and sisters, so why are you so particularly attentive to that boy?”
“Perhaps it’s fate,” Yan Yiming replied with a smile. “Father, even if Fifth Uncle did something wrong back then, Shaojun was only three years old at the time. What does it have to do with him? Shaojun is exceptionally bright, he’s already passed the child-examination and earned the title of xiucai at such a young age...”
Lord Jiang had been prepared to refute his daughter’s arguments, but Yan Yiming’s final words successfully diverted his attention. “He passed the child-examination? Isn’t he only thirteen?”
Yan Yiming smiled cheerfully. “The world has never lacked prodigies. In ancient times, Zhang Juzheng passed the child-examination exam at twelve, Yang Tinghe became a juren at twelve. Shaojun becoming a xiucai at thirteen is nothing extraordinary.”
Lord Jiang nearly coughed up blood.
Back in his day, his eldest son was already five years old when he finally passed the child-examination. It took him over a decade more to finally earn the title of gongshi and secure an official position. Now, his eldest son was already thirty but remained merely a scholar, unable to pass the final stage of the child-examination. With the annual February child-examination approaching again, everyone in the Jiang family who could study was hitting the books, and yet his daughter was telling him that Jiang Yi had already passed the exam.
Even as the current head of the household, Lord Jiang couldn’t hide his astonishment. He asked his daughter again, uncertain, and Yan Yiming replied helplessly, “If you don’t believe me, Father, you can check the government records yourself. Who would dare falsify something like this?”
Lord Jiang nodded and immediately dropped the matter of forbidding Yan Yiming from associating with Jiang Yi. He hurried off to the government office.
That evening, when he returned, Lord Jiang was beaming with joy. He instructed Lady Jiang to assign another maid to Jiang Yi’s quarters and sent over many supplies, particularly an abundance of writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and books.
Jiang Yi looked at his suddenly well-furnished residence and recalled Yan Yiming telling him the day before that she had a surprise for him. A smile spread across his face as he headed straight to Yan Yiming’s quarters.
From now on, he could finally see her openly.