Chapter 62

The sky had already turned dark when Yan Luan regained her consciousness, while her brothers’ voices filled her ears as they discussed the current political situation.

“Finally awake? About time too.” Yan Jing, who was still hugging her, noticed immediately as soon as she moved.

He glanced down at her, only to see Yan Luan blinking drowsily as she looked around in confusion, while Yan Dao offered her a cup of warm tea.

“Elder brother, what are we doing here?” She took a sip of the tea before passing the cup back to Yan Dao and nuzzling her face against Yan Jing’s broad chest, blinking as she observed her bright surroundings.

“We prepared a special present for you, it’s a good thing you woke up in time, as it would’ve been a shame for you to miss it.” Yan Jing replied with a smile before standing up and making his way to the garden with Yan Luan still in his arms.

As she landed on her feet, she realized that the flowers in the garden were all in full bloom, while a rich flowery fragrance filled the cold night air.

An entire cluster of snow-white epiphanies were in full-bloom too, and she could not help but kneel down beside it to take a closer look, “So beautiful…” She sighed contentedly.

“On the night when you were born, the blooming flowers in the mansion were many times more beautiful than this.” Yan Jing’s eyes gleamed deeply as he recalled the grand occasion from before, so clearly in his thoughts even though many years had passed.

Meanwhile, Yan Dao, who could not bear listening to a past that he had not participated in, reached out and held onto Yan Luan’s hand before leading her to the laurel tree towards the right. Curiously, it was decorated with tiny golden objects.

“Here, try hitting one!” Yan Dao grinned mysteriously as he passed her a small golden-rod.

“What is this?” Yan Luan asked curiously as she peered at the rod in her hand, before glancing at the objects on the laurel tree, only noticing now that the objects were golden round balls tied with silk ribbons.

She could not understand the situation at all, and Yan Dao, not intending to explain further, grabbed her tiny hand gently before knocking on one of the balls with the rod in her hand.

Bang!

Before she could react in time, a large wave of flower petals flew around her face, while another half-foot high fireworks were ignited nearby.

“This is…”

Bang!

Brilliant and exaggerated fireworks filled the night sky of the garden, and as she turned around to glance at her two wonderful brothers, she noticed that Yan Jing, who stood tall and steady, had lit up yet another firework, his eyes softening instantly as he noticed her gaze, it was clear that his eyes were filled only with love and adoration for her.

The same could be said for Yan Dao, who held tightly onto her trembling hand while reaching out a finger to wipe off the tears from her face, “Dumb little Ah Luan, happy birthday!” He wished her softly, “Look at you, crying with happiness.”

Yan Jing strode over quickly, picking up something from where the petals exploded previously before holding it out for Yan Luan.

It turned out to be a beautifully embroidered handkerchief.

“Happy birthday.” Yan Jing said softly as he rubbed the top of her head affectionately before placing the handkerchief onto her hand.

On the white silk, she could see a picture of a girl taking a nap against an opened window, and upon closer inspection, she realized that the girl in the picture looked exactly like her.

Yan Luan instantly knew who had created this, and the tip of her nose turned a little sour as tears filled her eyes once again.

And under the dazzling fireworks, Yan Jing took her in for a hug before landing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Now, don’t be in a daze, go over and knock on all of the presents, they’re all yours.” Yan Jing said softly before letting her go, but Yan Dao, not wanting to be left behind, quickly hugged her from behind before leaning over to press his burning lips gently against her eyelids, kissing her ever so softly and licking away her warm tears, as if she was the most precious treasure in the entire world.

“You’re fourteen now, you shouldn’t cry so easily like this anymore.”

It was quite rare to hear Yan Dao speak so soft and solemnly that Yan Luan burst out in laughter, she tipped her toes and pecked him softly on his cheeks before running towards the laurel tree.

“Thank you!” She felt as if her heart had been filled to the brim with sweetness, she felt exceptionally blessed that she would have the chance to return here, together with her brothers.

They successfully showed her what love is, and she was very glad that they were here.

The fireworks in the background continued nonstop as shattered orbs and the tiny presents dropped onto the ground, and before long, Yan Luan was already kneeling on the ground as she observed her wonderful gifts.

The presents that Yan Jing prepared were all small things used in her daily life, such as handkerchiefs and playing bottles, but no matter which one, all of them had a tiny painting of her, as if they were but a canvas to record her daily life.

As for Yan Dao, the presents he prepared were jewelries of all types, from flower-shaped earrings to exquisitely carved bracelets, and like the former brother, all of the jewelries had her name engraved delicately on.

These presents were all so unique, Yan Luan knew she would keep them safely her entire life, as these were impossible to replace.

She glanced up at her wonderful brothers, so tall and protective while the fireworks continued their performance in the night sky.

And if birthday wishes do exist, she wished that the three of them will never separate…

The sky was gloomy and dark on the day Princess YongKang and Yan Rong were supposed to depart, and as the three thousand personal guards stood before them, Princess YongKang wept softly as she held Yan Luan within her arms.

“Mother will surely return when you’re finally of age. Be good, listen to what your brothers say and don’t be stubborn, okay?”

Yan Luan nodded her head furiously while her head was still buried within her mother’s chest, as she could not bear to let go. It was not until Yan Jing pulled her apart from her mother that they were able to finally depart from the city.

“Do not worry, Mother, we will take good care of Ah Luan.” Yan Jing swore solemnly.

Princess YongKang nodded slightly, before picking up a handkerchief offered by one of her maid and wiping away the tears in the corner of her eyes. ;

Her gaze on Yan Jing’s palm, which was still on Yan Luan’s shoulder, before moving her gaze towards Yan Dao, observing both brothers with her sharp eyes, “Ah Jing, you’re the eldest here, some things ought to be considered twice.” She said softly as a dim light flickered deep within her eyes.

But before anyone could react, Princess YongKang had already entered her carriage and ordered for the servants to start moving.

“Do you think Mother knows?” Yan Luan asked softly as she leaned stiffly against Yan Jing’s arms.

Yan Jing lowered his eyes from the back of their mother’s carriage before gazing at Yan Luan deeply, “Do not worry, even if she knew, I will make sure everything is okay.”

Even though they had made sure that everything was hushed, in the end, there were no impermeable walls in the world. They should’ve expected that their mother would hear about this, as she was no ordinary person.

“Let’s return, it looks like it’s going to rain.” Yan Dao muttered glumly, as if what had happened did not affect him at all.

And as they made their way back, Yan Luan finally got curious on why Yan Rong decided to resign from his position in such a hurry. But Yan Jing was unwilling to explain further, hence Yan Dao had quickly taken up the role to tell her the so-called truth.

The assassination had been the final straw, leaving Princess YongKang in a fury, and as someone of such high position in the country, she could already see the current situation more clearly than anyone else, and if chaos were bound to happen, she would naturally ensure that her son will be the one in power.

Which was why, one the day Yan Rong woke up from his coma, she had actually prepared a bowl of poison…

It was undeniable that Yan Rong was an ambitious man, but at the same time, he was also someone who valued his life, a lot. And being someone who had almost died from the recent events, there was no way he would willingly take the bowl of poison.

Instead, he had quickly surrendered to Princess YongKang, resigning from his role of being the Lord of the family and passing all current affairs to Yan Jing, including the sigil of the family and the sigil of their family’s army.

And the reason why Princess YongKang still took him along with her to KuaiJi was because part of her still sees him as her husband, even though any feelings she had for him had been burnt out throughout the years, but the actual main reason was that they plan to recruit soldiers and horses for their new army, just in case of emergency.

“Alright then, since they had already left, it’s about time we clean up the Wang dogs.” Yan Dao muttered gloomily as he laid leisurely against the carriage the siblings were in. In fact, he had been itching for a fight as soon as he knew about Wang AnZhi, but though Yan Jing was already powerful before, Yan Rong still held the final decision as lord of HuaiYin Hou.

But now that Yan Jing is the new lord, there is no longer any need for more considerations.