dognovel Chapter 11 A Different Kind of "Blessing"
Chapter 11 A Different Kind of "Blessing"
At this moment, in the Prime Minister's residence, Jiang Qingyue slowly finished the last bite of her pancake, then walked to the entrance of the ancestral hall and knelt down.
She had barely knelt down when a hurried voice came from the doorway, "Sis, we're back, sis!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Qingyue lowered her head and silently clenched her fists.
She would never forget that voice. It belonged to the second branch of the Jiang family, to her uncle's two sons, her cousin Jiang Luoyu and her younger cousin Jiang Luoyun.
Jiang Chuchu's uncle's family had always wanted a daughter, but one after another, they had three sons. So, the whole family, from top to bottom, doted on her.
I used to envy Jiang Chuchu for having such a brother, and I would happily try to please them, even if they only spared me a little bit of their affection.
And what was the result? In their hearts, they only recognized Jiang Chuchu. As long as Jiang Chuchu shed a tear, all the blame fell on them. In fact, when they were ultimately harmed by Jiang Chuchu, they only had two words for them: "Serves you right!"
Sure enough, the moment they stepped into the courtyard and saw Jiang Qingyue, the third brother, Jiang Luoyun, glanced sideways, snorted coldly, and without asking any questions, uttered two words, "Serves you right!"
"Second brother, third brother, you've finally arrived! Chu Chu has missed you so much!" Before the second brother, Jiang Luoyu, could say anything, Jiang Chu Chu happily ran out.
Jiang Luoyun's face immediately lit up with a smile, "Sister, my second brother and I rushed as fast as we could, but we're still late. Please don't be angry!"
He was only in his early thirteens, still a teenager, and the "little tyrant" of the family. But when he met Jiang Chuchu, he instantly turned into a docile sheep.
"How could I be angry with you? You've come all this way for my birthday, you must be exhausted. I'll have the servants tidy up so you can go and rest." Jiang Chuchu acted like a caring little sister, which melted the hearts of the two brothers.
"Not tired at all!" Jiang Luoyun patted her chest as if she had been injected with chicken blood. "What's a little tiredness? As long as your sister is happy, it's all worth it. Come and see the gifts that my second brother and I prepared for you!"
As she spoke, Jiang Luoyun handed the gift box in her hand to Jiang Chuchu.
"Blood coral? Master Xue's 'Visiting the Sage in the Bamboo Grove' painting!" Jiang Chuchu jumped for joy. "Second brother, third brother, I love you so much!" Whether it's blood coral or Master Xue's original work, they are all extremely rare and hard to come by!
Especially Master Xue's original works. She had always wanted to become Master Xue's student and learn painting, but many people wanted to become his students. To prevent others from disturbing his peace and quiet, he set a rule that anyone who had a painting by him could visit him. However, very few of his paintings have survived to this day. Now that this painting has given her the opportunity to visit Master Xue, how could she not be happy?
"Second brother, where did you get this?"
"Haha, I'm glad you like it, little sister. As for how to obtain it, of course, that's a secret!" Seeing Jiang Chuchu happy, Jiang Luoyu's smile became even gentler.
"I love it, I really love it so much. I must hold a painting appreciation party to show off that I have a great older brother!" Jiang Chuchu winked playfully.
At the same time, she also wanted to use this to help salvage some of her reputation.
Jiang Qingyue looked at the painting of Master Xue visiting the sage in the bamboo forest in Jiang Chuchu's hand, and thinking about her plans, she raised her eyebrows slightly but remained silent.
"Where's my older brother?" Jiang Chuchu pouted immediately when she saw that there was no gift from her older brother Jiang Luofeng. She said coquettishly, "Hmph, he said I was his most beloved younger sister. I think he's completely forgotten about me!"
"How could that be? Even though I'm at the border, I won't forget you! Look, it's in my second brother's hands!" Jiang Luoyun pointed to the gift box in Jiang Luoyu's hand.
The three of them chatted as if no one else was around, completely ignoring Jiang Qingyue who was still kneeling to the side.
If it were her past life, she would have been heartbroken, but now, her heart is completely unmoved.
She slowly stood up and stood aside like an observer, coldly watching the three people exchanging pleasantries and showing affection as if they were a family.
Jiang Chuchu excitedly stepped forward to take the gift from Jiang Luoyu, but Jiang Luoyu only handed her the larger one and didn't give her the smaller one.
"Second brother, this... isn't it for me?" Jiang Chuchu froze awkwardly for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.
“Yes!” Jiang Luoyu smiled, a smile as warm as a spring breeze. Anyone who didn’t know him would surely think he was a gentle and refined gentleman. But only Jiang Qingyue knew that the deep-seated malice hidden behind that smile was even more disgusting than Jiang Luoyun’s.
At this moment, they seemed to remember Jiang Qingyue standing to the side. "Qingyue, this is a birthday gift we prepared for you. Because your return was sudden, we prepared it at the last minute. Happy birthday!"
Jiang Qingyue casually took it, whether she opened it or not, and just held it in her hand.
They did the same thing last year, giving a token gift, which was nothing compared to Jiang Chuchu's.
"Hmph, Second Brother, why are you giving this to this vicious woman!" Jiang Luoyun was very dissatisfied. Seeing that Jiang Qingyue showed no gratitude whatsoever and even just casually picked it up, he became even angrier. "If you don't want it, give it back to me!"
As she spoke, Jiang Luoyun was about to reach out and snatch it when Jiang Luoyu stopped her, saying, "Don't be silly, Qingyue is also your sister! If you keep acting silly, I'll tell Father and he'll punish you severely!"
That's how it happened. What seemed like a peaceful resolution to the conflict actually deepened Jiang Luoyun's resentment towards Jiang Qingyue.
"I don't have a sister like that!" Jiang Luoyun snorted coldly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it wasn't soft either; it was just loud enough for Jiang Qingyue to hear.
Jiang Luoyu flicked Jiang Luoyun's head hard. "Take it apart and see if you like it."
Jiang Qingyue opened the gift box without saying a word, and a palm-sized jade Guanyin statue lay inside.
"The Guanyin statue is a good gift from your second brother. It's to teach you what compassion is. Pray to it more often and stop thinking about how to harm Chuchu all day long."
Just like in her previous life, Jiang Qingyue had just opened the gift when Jiang Luoyun's voice suddenly came.
She had just suffered inhuman torture and struggled to get up despite her illness, eagerly anticipating her cousin's gift.
She originally thought it was a blessing, but Jiang Luoyun's words completely broke her down.
What did she do then? She hysterically smashed the Guanyin statue, and of course, she was punished again.
It was at that time, in the woodshed, that Jiang Chuchu used a red-hot branding iron to burn the plum blossom birthmark on her shoulder, completely replacing her identity.
Thinking of this, Jiang Qingyue almost lost control of her urge to kill.
Jiang Chuchu quickly composed herself, and the jealousy she had felt earlier dissipated considerably. If allowed, she would definitely have burst out laughing and praised Jiang Luoyun for her insightful comment.
She looked at Jiang Qingyue with a smile, she refused to believe that Jiang Qingyue could tolerate such an insult.
That's right, Jiang Qingyue in her previous life really couldn't resist.
However, Jiang Qingyue now closed the gifts with a smile, saying, "Thank you, I really like the gifts. Especially Luo Yun's blessing, I will calm my mind and be compassionate and kind."
Because I'm afraid that if I don't do this, I won't be able to resist cutting you all off with a single stroke.
Jiang Luoyun, Jiang Luoyu, and Jiang Chuchu: "..."