Chapter 334
Chapter 334
Likewise, thanks to her, the soldiers here ate better and had better clothes to wear.
Nearly everyone in Beizhen City had benefited from her kindness. How could they possibly treat her poorly?
And so Jiang Yunsui was raised here more and more like a beautiful, pampered cat.
She was cared for even better than the noble young ladies in Capital City.
Ji Yan’an had been away for half a year and only returned today. The moment Jiang Yunsui heard, she ran back from outside.
“You’ll grow taller too.”
After Ji Yan’an was cured of the poison, he resumed the martial arts training he had once abandoned.
He had always possessed exceptional talent for martial arts. As he grew older, his presence became increasingly imposing, and his height shot up. Now nearly eighteen, the young man stood almost 1.8 meters tall.
He was tall and lean, with nearly flawless lines of muscle across his body.
Dressed in a moon-white robe, he resembled a young sword cultivator from an immortal cultivation novel.
“Will I grow as tall as you?”
Ji Yan’an said, “No.”
Jiang Yunsui pouted. Fine, then. She would not.
It would not look good for a girl to be too tall anyway.
The two chatted the entire way. Jiang Yunsui had not changed at all; she still chattered constantly and wanted to share everything with him.
Ji Yan’an had an aloof personality, but he answered every question and listened to her attentively.
Together, they went to see Old Madam Ji.
“Grandmother, how have you been feeling?”
Old Madam Ji was advanced in years. She had caught a chill the previous year and, although she later recovered, her health seemed to have failed her. Her vitality and spirits had steadily declined.
To help her sleep comfortably, Jiang Yunsui had even introduced heated brick beds.
Now, nearly every household in Beizhen City had built one.
The local orphans had also been sent to Ji’an Orphanage, where heated floors kept them from freezing to death in winter.
Old Madam Ji seemed to perk up when she saw the two of them. She drew them close and began talking with them.
“Much better. Don’t worry. This old woman can hold on for another two years.”
Ji Yan’an looked at her with concern.
“Birth, aging, sickness, and death are only natural. I’ve lived to this age, and that is more than enough. My life has been worthwhile.”
Her only regret was that she probably would not live to see Yan’an marry.
“Grandmother, don’t say such things.”
“All right, all right. I won’t.”
The old woman chuckled. “Come, have something to eat.”
Jiang Yunsui said, “Grandmother, let me paint your portrait. I managed to obtain a great many pigments.”
“That sounds wonderful. Grandmother will be waiting.”
Full of enthusiasm, Jiang Yunsui had a maid bring over her brushes and paints.
“I’ve been learning oil painting for some time. This time, I’ll paint you in oils.”
After reaching a certain level in ink painting, she had obtained charcoal pencils and learned to sketch.
Once she had practiced sketching for a while, she began experimenting with pigments and moved on to oil painting.
The Inherited Memories in her mind were the finest teachers she could have asked for. Even without an instructor in this world, she could learn things that did not exist here.
She was grateful for the gifts left to her by the friends and elders of her previous life.
Ji Yan’an sat nearby and kept the old woman company. Once Jiang Yunsui finished preparing everything, she began to paint.
“Don’t come over. No peeking. Let it stay a mystery until I’m finished.”
Ji Yan’an had wanted to take a look, but Jiang Yunsui stopped him.
He had never seen one of her oil paintings before.
Ji Yan’an: “…”
Fine.
Old Madam Ji laughed heartily.
After spending the entire afternoon with Old Madam Ji, Jiang Yunsui still had not finished the painting.
But she had laid the foundation and decided exactly what she wanted to paint.
She carried the painting back with her, planning to return once it was complete.
Over the next several days, Jiang Yunsui devoted nearly all her time to the painting.
She only joined Ji Yan’an and the others at mealtimes.
Ji Yan’an also had many matters to handle after his return, so they saw much less of each other. Yet whenever they were together, one remained lively and noisy while the other stayed quiet.
Five days later, Jiang Yunsui completed her great work.
She wore an apron, and her hair was tucked beneath a white cap.
Paint smeared her face.
But she was so beautiful that the paint did not make her look dirty. Instead, it somehow made her appear even more radiant.
“Ji Yan’an.”
The moment the painting was finished, Jiang Yunsui went to find Ji Yan’an first, just as always.
She did not even remove her brightly stained apron.
She knew where Ji Yan’an was.
She ran all the way to the study.
“Ji Yan’an, I finished the painting!”
She bounded inside with a huge smile on her face, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
“Do you want to see it? Do you?”
“Oh? Little Yunsui only has eyes for the Young Master now?”
Jiang Yunsui looked over. “You’re so big. How could I possibly not see you?”
“Come on, come on! I’ll show you all my incredible masterpiece!”
Curious, Song Jin, Shen Qingzhu, and the others followed them.
Jiang Yunsui had already ordered servants to bring the painting out.
The moment everyone entered her courtyard, they saw the painting, which stood more than a meter tall.
There was not one person in the painting, but two.
Old Madam Ji sat on a stool, looking much younger in the portrait.
A man stood behind her.
Ji Yan’an’s pupils contracted.
That was… his grandfather!
And the figures rendered in oils looked far more lifelike.
To paint the portrait well, Jiang Yunsui had sought out the elderly maids who had served Old Madam Ji in her younger years and asked whether any portraits from that time remained.
To her surprise, some truly did.
She then found those portraits and used the subjects’ appearances as references.
Old Madam Ji was easier to paint. Jiang Yunsui merely had to portray her as younger.
The Duke Who Guards the Nation, whom she had never met, was much harder.
But portraits of him existed. Although ink portraits focused more on capturing a person’s spirit and bearing, they still revealed something of his appearance.
Uncle Li had also told her that Ji Yan’an bore some resemblance to the late Duke Who Guards the Nation. She therefore blended Ji Yan’an’s features with the old portraits, occasionally and secretly asking Uncle Li to confirm the likeness. At last, she had completed the painting.
Now, as Ji Yan’an stood before the portrait, he felt as though he were looking at his departed grandfather.
The old man had been stern and imposing, yet loving toward his family.
Ji Yan’an’s eyes reddened despite himself.
He was not the only one. Uncle Li secretly wiped away tears.
He had seen the painting several times before, but it had still been unfinished then. Those earlier glimpses had not evoked nearly as much longing as the completed portrait did now.
After studying the painting, Ji Yan’an walked over to Jiang Yunsui.
Under her sparkling gaze, which clearly begged for praise, he placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair.
“Thank you.”
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes curved into crescents. “You’re welcome.”
She quite enjoyed painting.
“Come. Let’s take the portrait to Grandmother.”
Everyone carried the painting to Old Madam Ji’s residence.
“Grandmother, look! This is the portrait I painted for you.”
Jiang Yunsui ran inside excitedly.
Old Madam Ji was just about to tell her to slow down when she looked up and saw the painting being carried inside.
She froze completely.
Then she hurried over.
Standing before the painting, she reached out with a trembling hand and touched the figure in the portrait.
“Th-this is…”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened and tears began to fall.
“Wonderful. This painting… this painting is wonderful. Truly wonderful.”
The other Ji women gathered around. They stared at the two figures in the portrait for a long time, then their eyes reddened as well.