Chapter 187
......
The weather was cold.
Early in the morning, before Father went to work, they enjoyed a scene of paternal affection as he tried to teach her painting.
Father had seen her drawing of a human face last time and may have thought she was a painting prodigy, so he prepared to teach her how to paint.
Things like impressionistic ink wash painting.
Holding a brush.
Jiang Changtian was surprised to find that his little girl's aesthetic sense seemed rather fixed.
She simply couldn't appreciate the beauty of ink wash painting.
As if her tastes had been set in stone.
After a morning of fatherly instruction, Jiang Changtian was nearly ready to shout in frustration.
After being glared at twice by Mom, he finally left for work.
Jiang Mianmian felt relieved.
What era were these parents from? Teaching children seemed to be bad for their hearts.
But what could she do? Father had made an ink dot and asked her what it was. Even if the king of heaven came down, it would still just be an ink dot. How could she lie?
She felt Father's aura was a bit off at that moment.
After Father went to work, the air seemed much clearer.
Jiang Mianmian wanted to tell Mom to keep an eye on her husband - could it be that he was going through male menopause due to his age?
But Mom's punishments hurt, so she decided against it.
After breakfast, Jiang Mianmian followed Grandma to watch her arrange gifts to be sent to the Capital City.
They now had relatives in the Capital City.
Her brother-in-law's family was from there.
Mainly, Grandma was instructing Elder Sister on what to send, Mom was learning, and she was observing.
"The winter solstice is coming soon, and winters are cold in the Capital City. We can send some things to keep warm. Even though we're not there in person, we should prepare what's needed. The gifts should be comprehensive," Grandma instructed the eldest daughter as she packed things.
Jiang Yu looked at Mom and smiled, "It feels like we're stealing things from home."
Qin Luoxia tapped her forehead, "What nonsense are you talking about? You're already married but still so immature. Your grandma is right. If you put your heart into sending these things, at least Xiao Meng's parents will worry less about him coming all this way."
Jiang Yu nodded, "I understand, Mom~~"
In any case, they prepared all kinds of warm furs, along with scarves, gloves, woolen socks, knee pads, headbands, and slippers made by her younger sister.
There were also various foods, preserved vegetables, dried meats, noodles, and so on.
Nothing too expensive, but very practical and diverse.
They also sent several carts of supplies to Grandpa Meng stationed at the border, focusing on warmth and food.
Jiang Mianmian took the opportunity to have Uncle Gong send gifts to Zi Xiaochong as well.
Oh, and they also prepared gifts for Eunuch Duan - he liked tea, so they prepared some tea for him.
Eunuch Duan had mentioned there was an Eunuch Yan who was favored by the emperor, but they weren't sure if it was the same Eunuch Yan they knew. They would ask about it when they got back.
In any case, it was all about reciprocity.
The life of a young lady from a wealthy family involved spending a whole morning looking at gifts in the storehouse.
Jiang Mianmian belatedly realized how quickly they had progressed from having no food stores to now having a storehouse.
The storehouse contained many gifts her brother had received for his birthday, including a lifelike golden mouse, exquisitely crafted and incredibly heavy.
She didn't know who had sent it, but it was certainly extravagant. Even a fingernail-sized piece of gold had some weight, and this whole mouse was so heavy that if she wasn't strong, she could barely lift it.
There were also vases and such that people had sent. Jiang Mianmian didn't examine them closely, not knowing if they were particularly valuable, but she thought that with current craftsmanship, making a matching pair of vases with identical patterns would be quite difficult.
After touring the storehouse, she looked for particularly soft cotton fabric. She wanted to make sanitary pads.
"Elder Sister has started her period, so I want to make clean pads for her that can be thrown away after use, without needing to be washed. She can change them several times a day," Jiang Mianmian explained.
Jiang Yu still felt a bit shy talking about menstruation, but hearing her sister's words, she couldn't help but feel touched. She hugged her sister tightly and kissed her.
"It wasn't for nothing that Elder Sister dotes on you, you little worrier."
Mom and the others who heard her idea thought it was wasteful.
Using something once and throwing it away seemed too extravagant.
Ordinary people certainly couldn't afford it.
If they didn't even have one good set of clothes, how could they make something good just to throw away after one use?
Washing and reusing was better.
It was similar to how later generations would get used to disposable diapers, while older generations still preferred cloth diapers that could be washed and reused.
Jiang Mianmian felt she had been a bit presumptuous again.
Fortunately, her parents were progressive enough. If they were still struggling, her tendency to come up with new ideas might have been very depressing.
Anyway, whether others used them or not didn't matter; the important thing was to convince her own family to use them first.
Jiang Mianmian spent the whole afternoon researching what kind of core material would be absorbent, healthy, and hygienic.
She was very serious and formal about it.
It was just like when she wanted to make soap bubbles before, and ended up making soap.
At times like these, Jiang Xiaoshu would obediently play with his ant colony on the side, not disturbing her.
Pangya helped by fetching things, earnestly keeping her company as she worked.
In the spacious room filled with sunlight, the little girl who didn't like to braid her hair sat with messy locks and a pretty hairpin at her forehead. In front of her were many white cloth strips. The little girl took a cup of water and poured it repeatedly to test, very seriously.
The little ants marched around in groups, also very seriously.
......
Lord Commander carefully observed the cliff where Lord Yu had fallen.
He tied a flag with white cloth at the edge of the cliff.
To warn people to be careful.
Of course, Lord Commander was very careful.
He wondered why Lord Yu would have been standing in this place for no reason.
Looking at the spot, there should have been other people standing next to Lord Yu at the time.
Lord Yu's attendants stood outside, all saying they didn't know what happened.
They just heard a sound, and Lord Yu had fallen down with a scream.
They didn't see anyone.
Then Lord Commander indeed found a pair of footprints nearby.
And they were rather small.
They looked like a woman's footprints.
Lord Yu had been investigating a case before his death.
He was investigating the case of missing nuns from Shangqiu Convent.
Commander Jiang said seriously, "Brother Yu came to my house and looked around everywhere. Those two nuns mysteriously disappeared. Brother Yu must have discovered something significant while investigating this case and was silenced. These footprints are the proof."
So all the evidence pointed towards Shangqiu Convent.
Commander Jiang was very efficient.
He didn't let Lord Yu die in vain.
Before Lord Yu's body was even buried, while it was still lying in state, he led a large group of men to surround Shangqiu Convent.
He demanded they hand over the murderer.
That day.
The worshippers who had come to burn incense at Shangqiu Convent were terrified.
The nuns of Shangqiu Convent were also frightened.
A dense crowd stood at attention at the gates of Shangqiu Convent.
A bird startled by the commotion flew out from the courtyard, only to be shot down by an arrow, falling straight back into the compound.
The cold wind blew.
Commander Jiang's hair tips and clothes fluttered in the breeze.
Sunlight shone on the plaque above the convent gate, its golden characters gleaming: "Abandon not your own path, disturb not others' hearts."
The leaves at the entrance of the temple had been swept clean.
The scent of incense was thick and rose to the sky.
The fragrance permeated the air.
......