The Double-Chapter 471 - 150 Joy Together

Day by day, time passed, and nine days had elapsed since the encounter with Hai Tang.

In those nine days, just as Situ Jiuyue had promised, Hai Tang was taught by Situ Jiuyue how to use the venomous spider to treat the scars on her face. Hai Tang did not speak of the hardship openly, but Zhao Ke, who came back to report, still had an expression of sympathy when he spoke of it.

It must have been truly painful.

Hai Tang endured it nonetheless. The first seven days of the venomous spider treatment were the hardest, yet during these days, she refrained from scratching the wounds and made it through safely. As long as no complications arose, it would not be long before her appearance was restored to its original state.

The suffering was not in vain and yielded excellent results, which was surely a cause for joy. Amidst this brief happiness, the Second Miss Jiang celebrated her first New Year in Yanjing City after an eight-year hiatus.

Early in the morning, Jiang Li put on her brand-new dress made by the tailor, a green satin embroidered jacket with a skirt of aqua cloud patterns. She usually preferred subdued colors, so even though the hues of her dress were not vibrant, the fabric was of high quality, and the craftsmanship was exceptionally surprising. Having grown a bit taller over the past half a year, she was slender and elegantly beautiful, a rare sight in Yanjing City.

Tonger placed the sandalwood lotus silver hairpin in Jiang Li’s hairdo, then looked in the mirror, feeling quite satisfied with herself. She said, "It’s done, miss, take a look."

Looking at the lady in the mirror, Jiang Li still found her unfamiliar. However, she had stopped rejecting the identity of Miss Jiang the Second and seemed to have truly accepted the fact, becoming familiar with this new identity over the past six months.

"Let’s go," she said, "We should pay respects to the old madam at Night Wind Hall."

In the beginning of the New Year, it was customary to pay respects to the old madam.

Inside Night Wind Hall, Jiang family members had all gathered together, and with the New Year, smiles adorned everyone’s faces—everyone, that is, except for Jiang Youyao. With Jiang Bingji being young and unaware, Jiang Youyao simply couldn’t bring herself to be happy. She couldn’t understand why, with her mother gone, the Jiang family could still smile. Hadn’t Ji Shuran worked hard for the Jiang family all these years? How could the affection of over a decade disappear so easily? The Jiangs were far too heartless!

Accustomed to blaming others, she never reflected on what Ji Shuran had actually done. Far from mourning Ji Shuran, others were probably thinking ’good riddance.’ Jiang Youyao’s discontent was written all over her face, only further disappointing Madam Jiang the Elder. Her granddaughter was stubborn and ungrateful—a behavior she realized too late had been fostered by Ji Shuran from many years back, resulting in this unfortunate character.

Madam Jiang the Elder decided to ignore Jiang Youyao for a while and conversed with Lady Lu and a few others, not paying any attention to Jiang Youyao. Meanwhile, Jiang Yuanbai was discussing affairs of the past few days with Jiang Yuanping. Feeling isolated by the Jiang family, Jiang Youyao trembled with anger.

At that moment, Jiang Li arrived.

Upon entering, Jiang Li paid her respects to Madam Jiang the Elder and everyone in turn. The old madam happily accepted and handed Jiang Li an embroidered purse containing a silver anklet. Lady Lu also handed over an embroidered purse; Jiang Youyao, with sharp eyes, noticed that the purse Lady Lu gave to Jiang Li was much larger than the one given to her.

Thinking bitterly, Jiang Youyao felt convinced that if it hadn’t been for Jiang Li causing her mother’s death, Lady Lu would not have been put in charge of the household. Perhaps Lady Lu and Jiang Li had conspired together long ago to kill Ji Shuran!

Jiang Yuanping also chatted warmly with Jiang Li, always with a smile on his face, yet behind the genial façade, he was a Smiling Tiger. But towards his niece, he did show some affection of a senior family member. Especially since Jiang Li had demonstrated intelligence beyond the norm, which made Jiang Yuanping even more pleased. Having a smart niece was far more beneficial to the family than a foolish one who would only cause trouble.

Lady Yang from the third branch also gave an embroidered purse to Jiang Li. Jiang Li thought that, since the third branch wasn’t wealthy and had little silver coins, they wouldn’t give much. However, the purse was unexpectedly heavy. Subconsciously, she looked at Lady Yang and found to her surprise, that Lady Yang’s attire was much more luxurious than before.

Being the most financially strained branch in the Jiang household, Madam Jiang the Elder did not bother with them, and Lady Yang’s dowry was not lavish. They depended solely on the salary of Jiang Yuanxing, which was barely enough for the family’s expenses. That was why, in the past, Jiang Yue had tried to curry favor with Ji Shuran and her daughter, hoping to receive some "gifts."