Transmigrating Behind the Mirror to Become Her Guardian Lady - Chapter 26

The battle zone among the three old men finally ended with Old Master Li conducting a profound self-reflection and guaranteeing that he would never cheat at cards again.

With laughter, banter, and a joyful atmosphere, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, lunch was over, and it was time for the segment where birthday gifts were presented to Old Master Jiang.

It was exactly as Shu Mengli had imagined.

Given Old Master Jiang’s status and position, what rare treasure had he not seen over all these years?

Whether it was sent by the Li family or painstakingly scouted by his sons and daughters-in-law, every single birthday gift was the result of brains racked to find something exorbitantly expensive.

Yet, no matter which piece it was, none managed to truly move Old Master Jiang.

However, since they represented everyone’s good intentions after all, he simply accepted them with a faint smile.

Right at this moment, the Second Aunt strode forward with an arrogant look, holding her birthday gift. Brimming with smiles, she spoke up.

“Dad, this is a birthday gift for you. I wish you good fortune as vast as the Eastern Sea and a life as long as the Southern Mountains.”

Old Master Jiang smiled and nodded. Of course, he did not reach out to take it himself, but merely waved his hand for the butler to accept it.

Yet, when he inadvertently cast his eyes down and saw the item the Second Aunt had gifted, he was slightly stunned.

That thing was by no means the most expensive item received today; it could not even make it into the top ten.

But it was quite thoughtful.

Because it was a soft pillow.

It was a soft pillow that the Second Aunt had spent a huge sum of money to customize. When one rested their head on it during night sleep, a pleasant-smelling incense would waft out, which helped with peaceful sleep.

It perfectly suited Old Master Jiang, whose sleep quality had not been very good lately.

However.

She probably did not know that the pillow he was currently using was the pair he had bought with his late wife in the past.

After his wife passed away, because he longed for his departed love, he could never bear to replace it. Having slept on it for over ten years up until now, he was already unaccustomed to using anything else.

Still, for her to care about the small details around him, this sentiment was still very good. Thus, Old Master Jiang rarely smiled and praised her with a sentence.

“You have been thoughtful.”

As soon as these words came out, the Second Aunt was immensely proud. Overjoyed, she replied, “Dad, this is only as it should be.”

The segment of presenting birthday gifts dragged on and on, finally passing. By the time it ended, Shu Mengli, lying in the mirror space, was almost falling asleep.

Let alone these elderly men who were getting on in years.

Thus, Old Master Jiang waved his hand, telling everyone to disperse and play on their own, as he also needed to chat casually and rest a bit with a few of his old friends.

With the old master’s permission, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Slowly, the main hall became practically empty.

It was also at this time that Jiang Weilu quickened her steps to catch up with the several old masters who were about to go upstairs. Then, she extended her hand and handed the small gift she had prepared to her grandfather.

“Grandfather, this is for you.”

Old Master Jiang was suddenly stopped by her. Lowering his eyes to look at the thing Jiang Weilu handed over, he was extremely surprised.

“This is?”

Hearing this, Jiang Weilu, who had never gifted anyone anything before, felt a bit shy. She pursed her lips, seemingly a little embarrassed.

“I… I heard that Grandfather always sleeps poorly at night, so I tried blending an incense that can aid sleep by myself, thinking of gifting it to Grandfather.”

“Blending incense?”

Now, even Old Man Li next to them could not help but be astonished.

“You blended this yourself? How can you do this at such a young age?”

Jiang Weilu nodded.

“Mm. An older sister I know taught me the formula. Butler Grandpa should know a little about it. I found the ingredients and stuff by myself.”

Hearing this conversation enter his ears, Old Master Jiang could not help but feel a bit dazed.

He reached out his hand and gently took the small, delicate brocade box held in Jiang Weilu’s palm.

Over these years, there were many people willing to flatter him, and many people capable of catering to his preferences to send gifts.

But the vast majority were like the Second Aunt, spending a lot of money to buy an intention to curry favor with him.

As for preparing a gift with one’s own hands, up until now, it seemed Jiang Weilu was the only one. Furthermore, she had prepared it after noticing a minor ailment in his body.

And isn’t this precisely the warmth that he had never seen in the Jiang family before?

Old Master Jiang felt as though his heartstrings had been plucked by something. The gaze he directed at Jiang Weilu grew sweeter and softer, and when he spoke, his voice was who knows how many times gentler than when he faced the Second Aunt.

“Then why didn’t you give it to me just now?”

Speaking of this.

Whether it was Jiang Weilu or Shu Mengli sitting in the mirror space, neither could help but flush red.

Having seen so many rare and exotic treasures in front, who would have the nerve to bring out this tiny piece of incense!

Jiang Weilu cleared her throat and spoke the truth.

“The gifts everyone prepared were all too valuable. I was embarrassed.”

Hearing this, Old Master Jiang could not help but burst into laughter, then reached out his hand to pat the child’s small head.

“Hahaha, what is there to be embarrassed about! Today in the Jiang family, your gift is the most valuable one!”

Subsequently, he turned his head and looked toward the old butler who stood to the side, smiling without speaking.

“Ah Long was right. Lulu really is a good child.”

What a warm and beautiful scene, what a thoughtful little granddaughter.

It simply caused Old Man Li next to them to go mad with envy.

He subconsciously turned his head to search for his own granddaughter’s figure. As a result, entirely by chance, his gaze collided with the figure of Li Yunmu, who was currently squatting in a corner gorging on cake.

As if having a premonition, Li Yunmu also looked over toward this side at this moment.

She lifted her small face, which was completely smeared with cake, looked at her own grandfather, and spoke indistinctly while stuffing it into her mouth.

“What are you doing, Grandpa?”

Old Man Li clutched his heart.

“Just keep eating yours!”

In any case, it was a good thing that the sent gift could gain Old Master Jiang’s favor.

It wasn’t to say she wanted to fawn over her grandfather or anything, but rather, she sent it simply because she wanted to send it, holding up her own precious, sincere sentiment to someone who was good to her.

After successfully giving the gift, Jiang Weilu was also quite happy.

Then, she considerately took her leave first, letting the quite exhausted grandfathers go and rest well.

Afterward, she happily took the little mirror, who had never been to the Jiang family’s ancestral residence, to view the scenery.

Shu Mengli sat quietly in the mirror space. Looking at the young children passing back and forth around her, she could not help but sigh, fully appreciating the difference of a wealthy, influential family.

Although these children were all not very big yet, looking across at every single one of them, their manners were elegant and bore an air of nobility.

Of course, with exceptions like Jiang Yuxi excluded.

This scene caused Shu Mengli a wave of emotional sighing.

What was she doing when she was ten years old? She was fighting with the boys in the residential compound, the kind where she cornered them in the bathroom to beat them up!

Right as Shu Mengli was secretly lamenting in her heart, Jiang Weilu had carried her around casually and had already finished touring most of the Jiang family’s ancestral residence.

After walking a circle, she felt a bit tired.

After softly discussing with her sister, Jiang Weilu decided to find a place to rest first.

She didn’t go far either.

She came nearby to sit under that tree on the shore of the courtyard swimming pool.

This season happened to be the scorching summer. No one was willing to run outside; sitting under the tree provided shade, which luckily was also quiet.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around at this moment, Jiang Weilu could not resist pulling out the small mirror from her chest to talk with her sister for a while.

“Thank you so much today, Sister. It looks like Grandfather really liked the gift we gave.”

She used “we.”

She had not forgotten that this gift was the shared sentiment of both her and her sister.

Hearing this, Shu Mengli laughed softly.

“Thank you for what? Why is Lulu being so polite with me?”

Hearing her sister’s gentle words enter her ears made Jiang Weilu very happy, because this sentence meant her sister did not treat her like an outsider.

This kind of inadvertent closeness was simply intoxicating. Jiang Weilu laughed softly.

“But it has always been Sister helping me. I also really want to do something for Sister.”

Shu Mengli smiled and shook her head.

“No, Lulu has also done a lot for me. For so long, haven’t you been firmly waiting for me? That is enough. In short, as long as Lulu is happy, it’s fine. If Lulu is happy, I am happy.”

The gentle words were as sweet as cotton candy. The instant they entered her ears, they made Jiang Weilu’s heart completely sweet, so happy she seemed to ride a cloud into the sky.

However, right at this moment.

Suddenly, a person walked over from the front of the swimming pool, heading straight for Jiang Weilu.

It caused Jiang Weilu, who was light-headed and felt as if she were in the clouds the previous second, to plummet straight to the ground the next second.

Alerted, Jiang Weilu instantly stopped talking to her sister, shoved the small mirror into her pocket with one movement, and swept her sharp gaze forward.

But very quickly, after seeing the approaching person clearly, Jiang Weilu relaxed and let out a breath.

Because looking across, the image of that person coming over was clear.

She sported a cool, tomboyish haircut, wore a short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans, and had a pair of small white shoes on her feet she was just short of engraving the words “carefree and blunt” in large text on her forehead.

It was precisely Li Yunmu.

Originally, Li Yunmu had been quietly crouching in the living room eating small cakes in high spirits, yet she never expected to be scolded by her grandfather for no rhyme or reason. She immediately felt indignant in her heart.

When you secretly drink alcohol at home, I don’t talk about you either! Why suddenly lecture me!

Just you wait. When I go back, I’ll snitch to my dad.

Break apart, grandfather-granddaughter relationship!

But right now it wasn’t at her own home, and there were still many elders present in the Jiang family. How would Li Yunmu dare to behave wildly?

Yet she also could not idle around, so she thought about going out to stroll.

As a result, she never expected that the moment she came out, she would happen to see Jiang Weilu beneath the big tree by the side of the swimming pool. Her eyes instantly lit up.

She remembered this younger sister!

Ever since their parting during the last Chinese New Year, she had consistently remembered this fierce younger sister.

She even thought day in and day out about learning a move or half a stance from her, so she could go home and flex her power, becoming the most awesome cub of the old Li family!

However.

Seeing her, Jiang Weilu could not be happy at all. Stroking the small mirror in her pocket with her hand, her heart was full of impatience.

But even so, she still very politely flashed the other party her habitual, amiable smile.

By this time, Li Yunmu had already run to Jiang Weilu’s side with a deng-deng-deng. The carefree girl charged right into the personal safety distance between people all at once, happily greeting Jiang Weilu.

“Hey! Little Sister, do you still remember me?”

Jiang Weilu furrowed her brows and widened the distance between the two of them, then squeezed out a sliver of a polite smile.

“I don’t remember.”

The unhesitating words caused Li Yunmu to choke.

Then, relying entirely on her powerful thick skin, she smoothed over the situation herself.

“That doesn’t matter either!”

“My name is Li Yunmu. From today onward, we are friends!”

Jiang Weilu smiled very amiably.

“Thank you, I don’t need it.”

“That doesn’t matter either! I’m two months older than you. From today onward, you are my little sister!”

“Thank you, I don’t need this either.”

“Then, then that doesn’t matter either! I…”

However, Jiang Weilu did not want to listen to her nonsense. Her sister could only come over with great difficulty; how could she waste time on this?

The corners of her lips hooked into a fake smile, and she said rapidly, “Then if you don’t have anything business, I will leave first.”

Finished speaking, she instantly turned around, preparing to depart.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Li Yunmu instantly panicked and grabbed Jiang Weilu’s sleeve with one tug.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t leave! Fine, I admit I came to apprentice and learn skills! Our relationship can be master and disciple; I can’t make any more concessions!”

From the very first day they met, Jiang Weilu could not figure out what was going on inside this person’s brain, and she still could not figure it out now.

Therefore, she simply did not intend to pay attention to Li Yunmu at all. She mercilessly pulled her sleeve back, smiling on her face.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Hearing this, Li Yunmu grew anxious.

“Hey, don’t be like that! Didn’t you play it real smooth last time when you blew up your dad’s mouth…”

Thump!

Her heart sank.

The words spoken by Li Yunmu’s loose tongue caused Jiang Weilu’s heart to tighten, striking her with horror. Her expression instantly blackened.

Her sister was still staying inside her pocket right now; she might very well have heard their conversation.

What if her sister found out about this matter?

Would she think she was insidious and crafty? Would she dislike her because of this? Or even leave her?

The moment the word “leave” surged into her mind, Jiang Weilu only felt suffocated in her heart, completely filled with lingering fear.

No!

She absolutely could not let her sister know about this matter.

Fortunately, fortunately her sister was currently inside her clothing pocket and could not see the scenes outside; there was still room to turn things around.

Thinking this way in her heart, Jiang Weilu subconsciously turned her body back. Her face no longer possessed even a sliver of her previous amiable smile, and she could not even maintain the fake smile.

Her eyes seemed to contain shards of ice, and with a gloomy expression, she pressed closer to Li Yunmu.

“Shut up!”

Although Li Yunmu had a carefree personality and was a foolishly bold person, how could a person born of the Li family be stupid?

She also possessed quite a bit of cleverness. The moment Jiang Weilu twisted around, she detected that the other party was not right.

She subconsciously stepped backward, wanting to distance herself from danger.

But because the atmosphere was tense at this moment, and the person pressing over in front of her was too dangerous, Li Yunmu momentarily forgot under her nervousness.

Right now, the two of them were standing exactly beneath the big tree, right at the edge of the swimming pool, only a few steps away from that clear pool water.

Failing to notice this detail at all in her panic, Li Yunmu took a few flustered steps backward.

Suddenly feeling her foot step into empty space, Li Yunmu froze for a second as shock surfaced on her face. Then she instantly lost her balance, and her whole person tumbled uncontrollably down into the swimming pool.

This matter happened too suddenly, causing even Jiang Weilu—who originally only wanted to warn her not to speak recklessly—to freeze up, her face covered in black lines.

Born in the Jiang family, those she met were all old foxes; she had never dealt with such a stubborn blockhead before. For a moment, she actually did not know what to say.

Jiang Weilu subconsciously extended her hand, wanting to catch the person falling into the pool.

As a result, she didn’t expect that the other person was one step ahead of her, howling and drinking several mouthfuls of water, sinking down with a dun-dun-dun.

Because of Li Yunmu’s sudden arrival just now, Shu Mengli had been urgently stuffed into the upper clothing pocket by Jiang Weilu.

At this moment, she could only see a pitch-black curtain of water and had no idea what had happened.

She could only judge what matter had occurred based on the blurry sounds coming from outside.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Shu Mengli asked with some worry, “Lulu, what happened outside? Is the person who came your friend? I thought I heard someone fall into the water, right?”

Fortunately, because of Li Yunmu’s sudden fall into the water at this time, the surrounding sounds were noisy and chaotic. Therefore, when Jiang Weilu answered her sister, she did not need to worry.

She unclearly spoke to explain a bit.

“Ah, her foot slipped, and she accidentally fell into the pool.”

Li Yunmu, who was drinking water dun-dun-dun in the pool, accidentally overheard this sentence, and her splashing became even larger.

What goddamn foot slipped!

“Help! Jiang Weilu! Dun-dun-dun, I don’t know, dun-dun-dun, how to swim!”

Hearing this heart-wrenching roar, Shu Mengli was worried to the extreme.

“Lulu, is there no need to save her?”

The corners of Jiang Weilu’s lips curled up slightly; she actually smiled at this moment, and gradually, this smile grew more and more brilliant.

She could not help but lament in her heart: Sister truly is kind, nice to everyone.

But such a good sister can only belong to me alone.

Nonetheless, her sister’s gentle and anxious urging undoubtedly made Jiang Weilu’s mood much better.

She raised her eyebrows with a slight smile and spoke to Li Yunmu in the pool in quite a good mood.

“Stop thrashing around. Stand up.”

Stand up for what! If I could stand up, would I still be here drinking water?!

Eh?

It seems I really can stand…

Li Yunmu was currently howling and pouring water into her stomach in the pool. When she vaguely heard Jiang Weilu’s voice, she thought the other girl was treating her like an idiot, and without even thinking, she complained in her heart.

But her body was still very honest. It subconsciously listened to Jiang Weilu’s words, and she tried to stand up.

The clear water cascaded down from the top of her head with a xi-li-hua-la, slid down her cheeks, and returned to the bottom of the pool.

Standing at the edge of the pool completely drenched, Li Yunmu looked exactly like a wretched drowned rat.

She lowered her head to look at the water depth that only reached her waist, her face burning with pain. She only felt that she, who had just drunk a stomach full of water and howled wildly for Jiang Weilu to save her, was a total moron.

Then she lifted her head and saw the Eldest Young Miss of the Jiang family standing by the pool’s edge, currently looking at her with a skin-deep smile, even smoothly complimenting her.

“Miss Li truly has a massive capacity; you’ve practically drunk the pool shallow.”

“You!”

Li Yunmu was so angry she spat out a mouthful of water with a pu.

Physically she did not dare, but in her heart, she raised a middle finger at Jiang Weilu.

You! Smiling tiger!

In view of the fact that this person Li Yunmu was truly too hilarious.

The birthday banquet of Old Master Jiang ended, and by midnight, Jiang Weilu had already returned to her own bedroom, yet Shu Mengli still could not help but want to laugh.

Jiang Weilu placed the large box that Butler Grandpa had given her before leaving onto the table, asking Shu Mengli with a light laugh.

“Sister is just that happy?”

Shu Mengli covered her lips, answering with irrepressible joy.

“Yes, that girl is truly too comical. Er, but what exactly is it that the old butler gentleman gave you before leaving?”

Since she asked, Jiang Weilu also smoothly untied the bow, opening the thing that Butler Grandpa had traveled thousands of miles to bring her.

Glancing at it, she started to laugh, shaking her head helplessly.

Looking across, the box was filled with a view of solid yellow; it was actually the small egg tarts she used to eat often back in Li Town.

She didn’t expect that after so long, Butler Grandpa would actually still remember, and had even brought them over to her from thousands of miles away.

Really, he was still spoiling her like a child.

Yet inside her heart, there was a non-stop happiness. Jiang Weilu put the box away well, planning to instruct the servants later to store the egg tarts properly.

Then she turned back to look at her sister in the mirror.

“These are the egg tarts Butler Grandpa gave me. Back when we were in Li Town, I casually mentioned that the taste was not bad, so Butler Grandpa thought I liked to eat them. Every holiday and festival, he would send someone to deliver them to me.”

Hearing this sentence enter her ears could not help but make Shu Mengli’s heart warm up a bit too.

She sat cross-legged in front of the water curtain, propping up her chin as she looked at Jiang Weilu on the opposite side of the mirror, her gaze gratified.

“That’s wonderful. Our Lulu also has many people caring about her now, and has her own friends too.”

Friends?

Who is this referring to?

Li Yunmu?

Jiang Weilu grinned as she realized.

“She is not my friend!”

The reply was extremely fast and her expression disgusted. Seeing her reaction, Shu Mengli could not help but burst into laughter, knowing she was just being stubborn.

But no matter what, the child was much more lively than before.

She was opening her heart; this was a good thing, wasn’t it?

“Then you can try to make friends with her. That child Li Yunmu is also quite cute.”

The moment these words were spoken, Jiang Weilu instantly became unhappy.

She threw down the egg tarts on the table and sat heavily onto the stool in front of the small mirror, pouting her lips.

“She is not cute at all!”

“Huh?”

Shu Mengli did not react in time.

Thus, Jiang Weilu explained another sentence with great indignation.

“How can Sister praise someone else as cute? Am I not the cutest one in Sister’s heart?”

Hearing this, Shu Mengli froze for a moment, then very quickly reacted, simply not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Heavens.

Lulu was actually jealous; could she not even praise another child a little bit?

How could their family’s Lulu be this cute!

At this time, Jiang Weilu inside the water curtain spoke up again with an unhappy face.

“Then Sister must say that I am the cutest.”

Shu Mengli smiled until her eyes bent into crescents, coaxing the child with a good temper.

“Yes, yes, yes, my Lulu is the cutest, the absolute most cute child in the entire world! Sister likes you the most.”

Being coaxed like this by her sister, Jiang Weilu finally became happy again. Her large eyes turned into smiling crescents as she looked at Shu Mengli, expressing her delight.

“I also like Sister the most!”

Joy colored her brow, so happy she was just short of rolling around on the bed.

However, right as the two were chatting happily.

An anomaly suddenly arose.

Shu Mengli’s heart violently shuddered, and her entire person grew somewhat stiff.

A faint sense of pulling transmitted from the depths of her soul, making her consciousness blur, unable to stop herself from wanting to fall into a deep sleep.

She knew she had to leave again.

But why did it have to be at this exact time!

Looking at Jiang Weilu who was currently happy inside the water curtain, Shu Mengli truly could not bear to leave her at this moment.

But fortunately, because of the existence of the glowing orb, the speed of her departure was delayed.

This time, she could say goodbye to Lulu properly.

Shu Mengli gazed at Jiang Weilu, who was happily rolling around on the bed on the other side of the mirror. After pondering for a long while, she still spoke up gently.

“Lulu, Sister has to leave now.”

Just as expected.

Hearing this sentence, Jiang Weilu’s movements stopped instantly, her smile freezing directly on her face.

But very quickly, she heard her sister’s voice come from the mirror again.

“But I will come back. When I come next time, I’ll be able to come out and play with Lulu.”

This sentence was incredibly effective.

Hearing this, the light that had originally dimmed down in Jiang Weilu’s eyes lit up again in an instant, staring tightly at her sister.

Thus, Shu Mengli made a further effort to continue comforting her.

“Although returning next time will probably be a year later, when that time comes, I can come out to accompany you, so will Lulu wait for me obediently, okay?”

It seemed that a parting with anticipation was much easier for people to accept than a sudden disappearance like in the past.

Before, it had always been Jiang Weilu proceeding alone on a dark road, waiting in solitude by herself.

But this time, with her sister’s promise, there was an expectation; it was as if a light had suddenly appeared on the dark road ahead.

Therefore, she had the motivation to move forward again, full of hope for the future and bursting with energy.

Now, she had already begun to look forward to their next encounter.

Looking at the face of the person on the opposite side of the mirror gradually becoming happy, Shu Mengli also set her mind at ease, saying with a smile.

“Then will you wait for me, okay? By this time next year, when Lulu grows one year older and becomes a slightly bigger little cutie, I can come out to play with you.”

“Mm!”

Jiang Weilu nodded her head vigorously.

“I’m not sad anymore; I’m very happy. When I grow a bit bigger and become a bit better, I’ll be able to see Sister!”

“Mm, then we have an agreement. I am looking forward to our next meeting, Lulu.”

Shu Mengli chuckled as she made the final promise.

Then, completely unable to resist the attraction force of the mirror space any longer, her consciousness fell entirely into darkness.

Jiang Weilu just sat there obediently, consistently watching until her sister inside the mirror had completely left.

A sliver of disappointment naturally stained her eyes.

But very quickly, she picked herself up again.

Running over with a pu-deng-deng, she picked up the calendar, marking and drawing on it, beginning to calculate how much longer it would be until she could see her sister again.

With anticipation came the motivation to move forward.

The beautiful promise diluted the emotions of parting.

This was the happiest Jiang Weilu had been after her sister left.

She was already starting to miss her sister.