Chapter 472: Time Flies
Jiang Danhe didn’t interrupt Xiaoguo and waited until she finished looking through the drawings before he started speaking. “Ever since you sent me the drawing of Zhuang Zhuang bowing to his teacher, I’ve been learning to draw. What do you think? Do they look pretty accurate?”
There was a very obvious hint of pride in his tone.
Xiaoguo felt a little awkward when she heard him mention her hand-drawn ‘masterpiece’. Compared to Jiang Danhe’s drawings, it would be a bit far-fetched to call her drawing a sketch.
The other party looked like he was fishing for praise and it was making her feel quite uncomfortable. Xiaoguo raised her hand to ruffle his hair. “Very impressive. I was wondering why you were behaving so secretively, always hiding in your room. So you were drawing these on the sly. I’m so… happy…” Xiaoguo had started noticing Jiang Danhe working on something secretly for some time now. Whenever she approached him, he would quickly hide the things in his hand. It was very strange.
Now, she finally understood. She was so in love with his cute and diligent man!
“My dear husband, thank you. I love you!”
Jiang Danhe’s heart was racing like a horse, even though he had heard Xiaoguo’s confession many times. In that instant, his eyes started tearing with emotions.
“I love you too! I love you the most!”
Xiaoguo smiled. There was only one way to reward Jiang Danhe, and that was…
“Let’s go! Let’s go sleep in that room!”
Xiaoguo looked at him meaningfully.
Jiang Danhe understood immediately. Feeling invigorated, he picked her up and ran straight to the other room, saying eagerly, “Let’s go! Let’s sleep!!”
After she saw Jiang Danhe’s vivid drawings, Xiaoguo suddenly had a thought. She wanted to know what the two elders of the Qin family looked like.
Jiang Danhe had definitely seen them before, but she wondered if he still remembered their faces.
After hearing her request, Jiang Danhe started to think carefully. He had a vague impression of her parents. During that time when he had gone to pick up the bride, the two elders were teary-eyed and reminded him carefully and firmly to take good care of Xiaoguo.
The more he thought about it, the more vivid the memory became.
Xiaoguo quickly prepared the paper and pen for him, and Jiang Danhe began to sketch.
The time he took to finish the drawing was neither short nor long, but the waiting time was agonizing for Xiaoguo. While he was drawing, she didn’t dare to look, fearing that the portraits might turn out to be her parents, But at the same time, she was also hoping it to be otherwise. She was feeling very conflicted.
If they were her parents, then she was absolutely the same Xiaoguo that was in this era. But then, she had missed out on the opportunity to be filial again…
If they weren’t…
Xiaoguo didn’t have to wait for too long before Jiang Danhe placed two portraits that were yet to dry in front of her. As he did that, he told her softly, “It’s done.”
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked towards the table. Two familiar faces appeared in front of her. Even the moles on the two elders’ faces were identical!
“Dad! Mom!”
The sadness that Xiaoguo had been hiding for a long time erupted at this moment. She stroked the two kind faces on the table. She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
She missed them so much! Why did she miss the chance to fulfill her duties as a daughter again? Why did she have to miss them two times?
Jiang Danhe’s heart tightened. He quickly hugged her, thinking that she was missing the two elders.
After watching her cry for a long time, Jiang Danhe was worried about her getting too worked up, so he comforted her and thought of bringing her to pay respects to her parents in two day’s time.
After venting her anger, Xiaoguo wiped her tears and withdrew herself from his arms. She carefully smoothed out the creases on the paper and placed the two portraits in the sketch collection that Jiang Danhe had given her.
“Father, Mother, I miss you so much…”
Qin Anming and Ruyi’s child was born three years after the two of them got married. They had a daughter, one that Jiang Danhe was hoping to conceive with Xiaoguo. Her nickname was baby, and her given name was Qin Manning. She was a lively and energetic “tomboy”. Whenever she had the chance, she would chase after her three brothers and climb things with them. She was not inferior to the little boys at all.
In the same year, Yu Ling, Shu Botong, Xiao Zhu, and Yang Jia held their wedding on the same day. As the two of them had no elders, Xiaoguo was the one who gave them away to the grooms.
On that day, she cried so hard. She regarded them as her own kids, who had grown up and were leaving the nest.
Of course, this scene was also carefully recorded by Jiang Danhe in his drawing collection.
A year after they got married, Shu Botong and Yu Ling were the first couple to receive good news. They were blessed with a daughter, whose nickname was Zu’er, and her given name was Shu Jing.
Yang Jia and Xiao Zhu also had a baby girl the next year. Her nickname was Bobo, and her given name was Yang Jinyao.
By then, Jiang Danhe had turned green with envy. But he still rejected Xiaoguo’s request to have another child. The memory of the delivery scene and the smell of blood was something he didn’t want her to go through again.
Zhuang Zhuang and Xiaoyi were now twelve-year-old boys. They spend their time playing and hanging around with two seven-year-old boys all day long.
When they return to Yonghai County, they would also be followed by three little girls who did not behave like girls at all.
It was even livelier when they returned to Peach Blossom Village. This large group of children was able to turn the village upside down, not to mention the two pairs of twins who were a lovely sight to behold.
In the capital, the two handsome boys had attracted many young ladies from various influential families. Those girls had given up their airs as young noble ladies and were constantly trying to get close to the two boys. This was a major cause of distress for the boys.
It wasn’t that bad for Xiaoyi, since he mostly resided in the palace. Most people don’t see him that frequently. As for Zhuang Zhuang, he was in a worse situation.
Despite being only twelve years old, Zhuang Zhuang’s demeanor and appearance was unrivaled in the capital city or even in the whole country.
No matter where he was, there would always be young ladies trying to get close to him. However, this little person was just oblivious to their affections. Other than his mother, he could not allow another woman into his life.
Every day, he would look for his mother after class.
Big Fatty and Second Fatty were even cuter. They were even chubbier than Zhuang Zhuang when he was young. Fair and chubby as they were, they always won praises for their cute appearances wherever they went.
Finding it hard to catch hold of Zhuang Zhuang, those girls shifted their attention onto the two little handsome boys. Since they were his younger brothers, the twins always came back with a bunch of scented handkerchiefs and snacks after taking a short walk around the neighborhood.
Xiaoguo thought that it was strange. After asking the twins, they told her in unison, “The handkerchieves are for Big Brother. The snacks are for us to keep.”
Based on the old saying, “A daughter in the house would attract a hundred suitors.” However, at the general’s residence, it was the opposite. The Jiang family had one son, and a hundred women knocking on their door.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, many years had passed.
As the children grew up one by one and became independent, the adults had aged unknowingly.
Of course, we are talking about age in that era. Fast forward to hundreds of decades later, forty years old is still considered young.
Jiang Danhe had trained an astonishing number of combat secret soldiers. Even until their deaths, they would never betray the Shao Nation. They had pledged their lives to protect their emperor!
Shao Zhan kept his promise and let Jiang Danhe leave the palace. Five years ago, he was conferred the title of a noble. Later on, it was inherited by Zhuang Zhuang, oh no….or rather, Jiang Qingwen, who had made major contributions to the nation at a young age.
Shao Yi also grew up very quickly. Aware of the burden on his shoulders, he learned to become more calm and restrained in his demeanor. When he was 17 years old, he received Shao Zhan’s approval and inherited the throne, becoming a famous and illustrious emperor in history, known as Emperor Yi. Zhuang Zhuang had chosen the same path as his father. He vowed to protect the country with his life and fought for the stability of the country’s future. Accumulating one merit after another, he rose steadily in rank and status. From Jiang Danhe’s son to Jiang Qingwen, he remained the sole person that Xiaoyi trusted the most.
Big Fatty, Jiang Xishuo became a scholar under the guidance of Teacher Kong. Later on, he entered the imperial court and launched a national literacy campaign, contributing his efforts to the prosperity of the future generations of the Shao nation.
Second Fatty Jiang Xingze was not interested in literature or martial arts. From a young age, he enjoyed hanging out with Su Changsheng. Despite Jiang Danhe’s attempts to scare him, he continued to do things his own way. As he grew older, he became a business prodigy, even more obsessed with money than Su Changsheng. Eventually, he ousted Su Changsheng to become the wealthiest man in Shao nation, with plans of expanding his business to other countries.
With their contributions, the Shao Nation became a prosperous and thriving country, achieving the goal of providing its people with a secure and happy life. It became the leading state on the mainland, surpassing others in terms of military strength, culture, and economy. Its achievements were far beyond the reach of other countries..