15 Chapter 15: Full Moon_1
Translator: 549690339
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed and the twins had reached their first month.
Jiang Sanlang organized a full moon banquet for his two little sons, inviting relatives and friends to partake in the feast.
Those who came to offer their congratulations mostly brought their little boys and grandsons. With not enough room on the six tables, Jiang Sanlang constructed an open-air tent in the courtyard and arranged a few more banquet tables.
“Sanlang, congratulations,” said one of the villagers, who had brought several eggs as a gesture of good luck. He teased, “Who would have thought you’d go from having no children to suddenly having two sons! We call that saving the best for last, a true surprise, haha!”
Jiang Sanlang laughed heartily and bowed to the villager, “You flatter me, you flatter me. Please come in, the banquet will begin shortly.”
“Alright, you’re busy, you’re busy!”
The villager walked into the hall, placed his gift in front of the account book, and asked Jiang Erlang, who was keeping the accounts, to register it.
At this time, a few more guests arrived and Jiang Sanlang rushed forward to greet them…
In the kitchen, the women of the Jiang family, along with Chunniang and her sisters-in-law, were busy cooking and the whole place was bustling. A few of the neighboring women sat on small stools, chatting casually as they washed and chopped the vegetables.
The children ran around the courtyard, laughing and playing.
For a while, there was a constant stream of people in and out of Jiang Sanlang’s house. It was lively.
Inside the house, Yingbao was watching over her two little brothers’ cradles, spinning a rattle drum for them to see.
Little Xiaolu lay obediently at her feet, watching everything with big, innocent eyes while chewing on his food.
Dani, Erni, and Yuanbao also gathered around the cradle, craning their necks to observe their identical little cousins.
“This is the eldest, Jahrriery, and this one with the round face is his younger brother, he’s called Jiang Wu.”
Yingbao patiently introduced the twin brothers to everyone who came to visit, helping them tell one from the other.
Yuanbao blinked his eyes, still confused. “But their faces are all round.”
Dani, smacked his little brother, “Silly! One has a round face, the other doesn’t.”
Erni giggled and added, “Exactly!”
A puzzled Yuanbao rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little wronged.
After not much time, Jie in the cradle began to squirm and cry, quickly followed by little Wu.
When the two babies started crying, their three siblings panicked and rushed off to get the Third Aunt.
Yingbao, however, was unruffled and slowly comforted her brothers, whispering gently, “Little Jie and Dawu are hungry, don’t be in such a rush. As soon as your mother comes, you’ll have something to eat.”
Chunniang hurriedly arrived, picked up one of the babies, and began to feed him.
The other one cried even louder, as if deeply unsatisfied.
With no other choice, Chunniang had to feed both sons simultaneously.
Fed and full, the two little ones fell into a peaceful sleep.
Old Madam Jiang came in and told her third daughter-in-law, “You should rest with the children. You just had a baby, don’t overexert yourself. Your sisters-in-law can handle the affairs outside.”
Chunniang, indeed feeling tired, nodded in agreement. “Alright, I’ll lay down for a while. I’ll leave the kitchen to my sisters-in-law.”
Old Madam Jiang grunted in agreement, turned and pulled Yingbao up, “Yingbao, go out and play with your brothers and sisters. Your mother is here with your brother.”
“Okay.”
Seeing her young mistress leaving, Xiaolu quickly scrambled to his feet to follow.
Hence, Yingbao, followed by a deer and flanked by Dani, Erni, and Yuanbao, went off to play outside.
There wasn’t much to do outside. The weather had turned cold, even the tree leaves had completely fallen, and the bugs and ants were nowhere to be seen. It would probably snow soon.
But the children didn’t see it this way. They could happily run around all day using bamboo sticks as horses.
Not long after they left the house, the village children came rushing over, all jabbering about Xiaolu, some even reached out to touch him.
Yingbao reminded them, “Don’t touch his backside carelessly. Be careful not to be kicked by Xiaolu.”
Nowadays, Xiaolu had grown quite tall and was far larger than an ordinary deer, exhibiting a robust physique with strong hooves. He looked as if he was almost a small pony.
If saddled and bridled up, the kids could even ride it like a horse.
Indeed, Yingbao had this thought in mind, but getting a custom saddle would cost quite a few silver coins, so she had put off the idea for now.
The children pulled their hands back and chattered around Youyou with envy written all over their faces.
This deer had become a celebrity in the village, having been seen and touched by nearly all the children, even those from Xichen Village often came by, just for a glimpse of Youyou.
Yingbao had seen the two daughters from Chen Changping’s home too but felt no ripples in her heart.
The happenings of her previous life were left where they belonged, in the past. The now her did not want any connections with them.
“Are you Yingbao?”
A pallid village woman stood not far away, her eyes fixed on Yingbao.
Yingbao didn’t even need to turn around to figure out who was speaking.
It was her birth mother, Han Juniang, who had been watching for who knows how long.
Yingbao was startled, but she quickly calmed down, pretended not to hear anything, and turned to Brother Yuanbao,
“Brother Yuanbao, can I go over to your place to read?”
She had already learned the Three Character Classic from Yuanbao, and was currently reading through the Thousand Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames. She believed that soon, she’d be able to write freely and openly.
“Sure.” Yuanbao agreed without hesitation.
If his little cousin went to read, then Youyou would be his to take care of.
As she was about to leave, the woman took a few steps forward to block her, repeating, “You’re Yingbao, aren’t you? Do you know who your real parents are?”
Rolling her eyes, Yingbao responded, “My parents are Jiang Sanlang and Xu Chunniang. Who are you? Why are you blocking my way?”
Wiping imaginary tears from her eyes, Han Juniang protested emotionally, “No! They’re not your real parents…”
Before she could finish, Yingbao grabbed Yuanbao’s hand and ran toward her uncle’s house, shouting “Bad woman!” over her shoulder.
Stunned, Han Juniang stood in place.
With one breath, Yingbao dashed into her uncle’s house. On seeing that cousins and Youyou had followed her, she quickly asked them to close the gate to the courtyard.
The house was empty at this time. Her grandparents, uncle, and aunt had gone to help out at their own homes; her other cousins weren’t home either.
Yingbao, clutching her chest and panting, was somewhat dazed.
How could this woman dare to come over so early?
It wasn’t like this in her past life—she remembered the first time the Han Family visited was when she was over four years old.
Yingbao lowered her head to look at the birthmark on her wrist.
She hadn’t managed to remove the birthmark yet. She couldn’t let that woman bring everything out into the open.
“Why did Yingbao call her that?” Dani asked, perplexed. She recognized the woman; she seemed to be from Xichen Village.
Being older by a few years, Dani understood what the woman was implying. She glared at her sister, “That woman dared to try and sow discord; of course, she’s a bad woman!”
Everyone in the family knew that Yingbao was not their uncle’s biological child, but they didn’t care as long as her uncle and his wife treated her as their own.
That woman bringing up such a topic was trying to drive a wedge between Yingbao and her adopted parents.
“Oh.” Dani finally understood. At six years old, she was still a little confused, but she knew that the family needed to stick together. She nodded forcefully, “Then let’s go tell Uncle, and we’ll deal with that bad woman.”
Dani had the same thought in mind, she turned to Yingbao, “Should we go find Uncle?”
Yingbao shook her head, “Not for now.”
Today was her little brother’s one-month celebration, and there were so many guests at home. She couldn’t give Han Juniang the chance to reveal everything in front of everyone.
She surmised that Han Juniang wouldn’t have the nerve to say it herself, so she came looking for her instead, trying to find a breakthrough with the children.
“What if she’s still waiting outside?” Though sensible, Dani was only nine years old, and hadn’t encountered such a situation before, so she was a little uneasy.
Peeking through the crack in the door, Yuanbao quietly said, “The bad woman isn’t outside.”
Turning to his little cousin, he patted his chest, “I’ll go out and check if she’s gone.”
“Alright, you go, but don’t talk to her or call for anyone.” Yingbao instructed.
“Sure, I’ll just take a quick look from afar.” Yuanbao walked out, leading Youyou by the hand.
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