Chapter 61: Birthday.

Chu YunShang’s grand wedding took place in WuAn HouFu, which was where Wang AnZhi lived, and due to their mistrust of that place, House Yan had merely prepared and sent a wedding gift to the newly weds while not attending the wedding in person.

And in a certain house, under a brightly lit and festively decorated ceiling, the family sat around a huge table peacefully, even the pregnant Yan Fei was here.

“Today was supposed to be Ah Luan’s special day, to think that the celebratory feast we had in mind had to be cancelled because of such a ‘coincidental’ clash in dates… In that case, we’ll just celebrate and enjoy this day with family.” As the family head, Princess YongKang, who was dressed in her phoenix-themed formal attire, announced happily to everyone around her.

“To think that in a blink of an eye, Ah Luna is already fourteen years old!” Yan Rong nodded cheerfully in agreement, “Here, take this. Father had personally supervised the crafting of this jade locket, may it bless you well.”

The newly recovered Yan Rong was still somewhat pale in the face, but his smile was sincere, and his eyes were of those of a loving father.

Yan Luan smiled gently as she took the crafted wooden box from his hands, the locket was made with the purest white jade she had ever seen, while bordered by pure gold, it was an exquisite piece of art, “Thank you, father.”

She placed the box beside her gently, next to the various land deeds and the personal bodyguard lists her mother had given to her as proof of her undying love towards Yan Luan.

Noticing that it was her turn, Yan Fei made her way towards her sister with a warm smile, unable to hide the glee and happiness within her heart at the fact that Princess YongKang had allowed her to attend this family celebration.

“Here you go, I made this myself, hopefully Ah Luan would not dislike it.” She said softly before placing the box onto Yan Luan’s handmaiden’s outstretched hands.

Inside the box was a pair of handcrafted shoes, pure white with mesmerizing embroideries all around it, most of all, at the head of the shoes were pink cotton balls, and Yan Luan was fully taken by it, “Thank you, Sister Fei, I love it.”

Yan Fei, who had subconsciously held her breath as she waited for her sister’s reply, visibly let out a sigh of relief as soon as her words landed.

Yan Jing, who had been seated right next to Yan Luan the entire time, moved under the lowlight, glanced at his sister with tender eyes as he presented her with a scroll.

“Remember brother’s promise of always gifting you a painting on your birthday?” He smiled gently while urging his sister to view his creation, “Do you like it?”

Yan Luan, who was momentarily stunned by his handsome smile, nodded cheerily as she expanded the scroll, only to hear Princess YongKang sighed in amazement at the painting.

“Yan Jing’s art is beginning to possess quite the demeanor of Master QingWen.”

The painting was of a young lady dressed in pink, in the painting, she was seated under a blooming cherry tree, her head slightly tilted and her eyes slightly closed as she enjoyed the gentle breeze while her silky dress fluttered beautifully like a butterfly.

Feeling a weird sense of familiarity from the picture, Yan Luan pondered over it for a moment before recognizing the scenery.

Wasn’t this the tree she had rested as she daydreamed her day away while enjoying the breezy afternoon? To think that he had been watching…

Yan Jing’s painting was undeniably lifelike, that even though the inks he used were not comparable to modern watercolors, but from the strokes of his brushes, he was able to breath souls into the objects within the painting, even accurately depicting Yan Luan’s delicate and charming appearance.

“Thank you, elder brother!”

“I’m glad that you liked it.”

And under the table, where no one would ever see, two hands were clasped tightly together. Yan Luan’s beautiful eyes were clear and bright, while Yan Jing’s eyes were filled with a tenderness that was reserved only for his beautiful and most loved sister, but if one were to dig deeper into his eyes, one would see the undying love, from one man to another woman.

Naturally, Yan Dao refused to be left behind. He held a beautifully decorated brocade box towards Yan Luan, and as soon as she opened it, the entire dining room shone with a bright light.

Inside the box was eight palm-sized ;night pearls1, it was easy to see that all eight pearls were incomparable in color and texture, and the quality obviously exquisite.

1Night Pearls(夜明珠) – An expensive pearl that is frequently mentioned in stories with ancient settings, where the characters would use it like a flashlight to light up an area (usually a dark corridor / cave). Nobles who have more than enough money to afford these pearls would even use it to light up their rooms.

“Second brother……” She gasped as she remembered her mentioning night pearls jokingly, to think her random words meant so much to him…

Yan Dao’s cold lips were slightly raised, as he answered her unasked question, “You did mention that you want as many as possible, do you like them?”

Yan Luan knew that even though Yan Dao had made it sound like a simple task, but his efforts were obvious in the top-notched quality of the night pearls… What is there to dislike, and how could she not feel touched?

“OI love them!” She grinned happily, with tears in her eyes.

Such a harmonious scene of the family had been absent from HuaiYin HouFu for many many years. Princess YongKang quickly ordered to have the food served, and like previous years, she began counting the embarrassing things Yan Luan had committed throughout the years.

Regardless of past and present, Princess YongKang had always been an exceptionally qualified mother, especially to Yan Luan.

“In two days, Mother will be returning to the KuaiJi with your Father. Having stayed in the city for so many years, I am very much tired of everything there. The mountains and rivers of KuaiJi are wonderful and relaxing. As for this HouFu, it’s up to you three now.”

Yan Luan had long known that her mother would eventually leave for KuaiJi, as it is the birthplace of the Yan Family’s ancestors and most of the Yan family relatives were still residing there. Yan Rong, who was supposed to be in KuaiJi years ago, was allowed to stay in HuaiYin HouFu for an extended period of time was only because he was married to a princess.

“Do not worry, mother.”

As the new head of the family, Yan Jing seems to be more mature than before, and while he is oppressed and indifferent to most things, anything that included Yan Luan was, and will always be, his top priority.

But though short, his words had indeed put Princess YongKang at ease, because even though she had done many good and bad things in her life, the proudest moment was still having Yan Jing as her son.

As they said, a swimming dragon is still nonetheless a dragon, who will eventually rise and soar into the sky…

(TNote: I’m not sure if this is an actual idiom, as I have no recollection of ever reading it in my life LOL)

But, good things does not last, as it was not until a long time later that Yan Luan realized that things were not always as they seemed on the surface, just like her smiling Father, who was silently comforting his wife.

His twisted hatred, was probably already contained in his deep and genuine smile even at this time, unnoticed by all.

Yan Luan’s cheeks were tinted red, as she had drank far too much wine during the banquet that as soon as the family dinner ended, she was being carried carefully back to her room by Yan Jing.

“Mm, where are we going, elder brother?” She asked in confusion as she looked around in confusion, “Eh? Second brother, don’t bite my ear!” She squealed at the ticklish sensation.

The long corridor was empty with not even one single servants in sight, hence Yan Jing had simply took his soft sister into his arms, hugging onto her warm body greedily while Yan Dao strolled beside him.

“Drunk Ah Luan is exceptionally cute.” Yan Dao grinned as he teased her uncontrollably.

The sweet scent of the osmanthus flowers were scattered in the cool breeze of the early autumn night, Yan Jing walked slowly while Yan Luan muttered something uncoherent under her breathe.

Everything looked harmonious and pleasant if not for Yan Dao, who had revealed his true nature as he slipped a finger into his sister’s slightly opened mouth, twirling her delicate soft tongue teasingly.

“Mm…?” Yan Luan could not help but whimpered softly at the disturbance in her mouth.

Noticing that a wisp of her saliva had leaked from her agape lips, Yan Jing stopped his brother with a look, deeply inhaling her hot breathe before licking the leaked saliva, tinted with a wine-scented sweetness.

“How can she unwrapped her presents now that she’s so drunk? Such a naughty little girl, wasting our joined efforts.”

Yan Dao, who had initially wanted to taste her sweetness, was once again stopped by Yan Jing’s glare, huffed in displeasure before removing his saliva-filled finger from his sister’s hot mouth and putting it into his own.

The faint smell of wine and a young lady’s smell, somehow made his body burned.

“Let’s go, she will be slightly conscious by the time we reached, just in time.”

The only thing in the entire world that can make Yan Jing spend so much time and effort on, are the things linked to Yan Luan, and only Yan Luan. Nothing else could compare to her, not even leading the army to protect his country, nor embarking on political affairs, he could complete these chores with ease, hence he felt nothing for it.

But Yan Luan’s birthday was something on another level, in fact, he had been preparing for today since many months ago, such as the initial banquet, which would’ve been filled with guests that he invited to show off the existence of his precious sister to the entire world, if it had not been disrupted by ;some people.

Hence, he could only surprise her in another way.