After dinner, the family gathered together, waiting for Jiang Pan to read the letter.
Jiang Wan was also very much looking forward to it.
For the past five years, she had not had the eagle keep watch on Erlang every day. One reason was that General Han's army was moving further and further away, and the other was that Erlang's abilities had become very strong, far beyond self-preservation. There was little point in having the eagle follow him.
Therefore, Jiang Wan had not had much information about Erlang in these years.
Jiang Pan took out the letter and began to read it aloud.
More than ten people listened quietly, their expressions changing with the content of the letter.
Erlang's letter was not long, only three pages, but it contained two months' worth of news.
The family, however, listened with joy.
Because General Han's army was advancing like a broken bamboo, defeating Zhao Jingyun's army soundly.
Victory was in sight!
If there were no accidents, in another six months, Erlang would be able to return triumphantly!
Jiang Wan smiled and said to Zhang Qiaoxiu, "Second sister-in-law, second brother will be back soon to reunite with you and Yan'er."
Zhang Qiaoxiu's eyes turned red, and she almost shed tears.
It had been seven years. She and Erlang had only been married for eight years, and after more than a year of being together, Erlang had gone to the battlefield.
She could barely remember Erlang's appearance, and her son Jiang Yan had never even met his own father.
Jiang Pan couldn't stand the woman crying and said, "It's good that he's coming back soon, we should be happy."
Hearing her father-in-law speak, Zhang Qiaoxiu quickly held back her tears and forced a smile, "Father is right. My husband must have changed a lot. He definitely can't wear his old clothes anymore. I need to make him some new clothes before he returns."
Chen Yuezhi nodded with a smile, "I guess his build is probably similar to your father's. You can make them according to this size."
The family's clothes and shoes were now made by the Su sisters in their embroidery shop, and they had everyone's measurements.
Zhang Qiaoxiu nodded in agreement.
After chatting for a while longer, the family returned to their respective rooms.
Jiang Wan returned to her room, closed the door, and took out her treasure chest from the cabinet.
The chest was half a meter long, half a meter wide, and half a meter high, quite heavy, but not much for Jiang Wan.
She placed the chest on the bed, took out the key to unlock it, and was then dazzled by the golden light inside.
The chest was filled with many gold ingots and silver ingots, as well as stacks of silver notes.
Jiang Wan took out a five-hundred-tael silver note from her pocket, placed it with the other silver notes, and counted them carefully.
A total of fifty thousand taels!
Adding this cash, her little treasury was approaching sixty thousand taels.
This was all income from her tea house and medicinal fields.
She didn't have a great desire for money, so she had been saving it all these years. If she had put all her energy into making money, her net worth would probably be terrifying now.
However, money was just a tool, and having enough was sufficient.
As for the rest of the family, none of them lacked money. Her elder brother's restaurant had spread throughout Jiangnan, making a fortune every day. Her elder sister-in-law and second sister-in-law's embroidery shops also earned a lot of money each year. Her mother's medical clinic was even more so; so many people came with heavy gold to seek treatment, and her mother had to make people queue up.
Now their Jiang family had reputation and money.
If General Han could defeat the person named Zhao and ascend the throne, their Jiang family would also have power.
Jiang Wan was extremely satisfied with her current life.
She planned that once she saved up a hundred thousand taels, she would discuss with her parents about going on a journey.
However, with her parents' personalities, achieving this goal might not be easy. But she believed her parents would eventually agree.
Jiang Wan happily finished counting her little treasury and was about to put the chest back when her eyes swept over the hidden compartment of the chest.
She reached out and opened the hidden compartment, revealing a brocade pouch.
Opening the pouch, she found the jade pendant she had asked from Gu Chenzhou back then.
After Gu Chenzhou left, she had locked this jade pendant away. After all, it was his family heirloom, and it was not appropriate for her to wear it around her neck every day. What if she accidentally chipped it? How would she return it to him in the future?
However, did she still have a chance to return this jade pendant?
That person had left for seven years without any news. She had also tried to have her subordinate's friend look for him, but there was no news at all.
He and his master seemed to have vanished into thin air.
As time passed, the people around her no longer mentioned them. Even she sometimes couldn't remember such a person. Only when she occasionally opened this chest and saw the hidden compartment would she suddenly remember the handsome young man.
Since he left, her supernatural ability had not upgraded.
The higher the level of the ability, the harder it was to upgrade. And her ability was already enough for her, so she had not forced it in these years, which made it even easier to forget him.
She didn't know if he was still alive, and if he still had a chance for her to return this jade pendant to him.
Jiang Wan reached out and stroked the jade pendant, sighed, and put it back in its place.
After putting the chest back in the cabinet, Jiang Wan lay down, used her ability to turn off the light, and slept peacefully.
Cheng Manor.
Madam Cheng was pushing a small booklet of portraits towards Cheng Sinian.
As soon as Cheng Sinian saw the booklet, he became displeased. "Mother, why are you giving this to me?"
Madam Cheng glared at him. "What do you think? You are seventeen this year, and it's time to consider marriage. If you delay any longer, all the girls your age will be married."
"Mother, why are you in such a hurry? My son's marriage hasn't arrived yet. When it does, it will happen naturally."
That girl would not be of marriageable age for another six months. It was not yet time to discuss marriage.
Madam Cheng snorted. "Wait? If we wait any longer, it will be too late! You have to look today, whether you want to or not!"
Saying that, she opened the album and pointed to the girls on it. "This one, the eldest daughter of the Qin family's eldest branch, you've met her. She's very attractive, dignified, and steady. She's a suitable candidate for a principal wife."
"This one, the second daughter of the Huang family's second branch, is a year younger than you. She's a bit lively, but she's quite good for a dull person like you."
"And this one..."
"Mother!" Cheng Sinian quickly stopped her from continuing. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. I already have a girl I like."
"That's good, no, what did you say?"
Madam Cheng was shocked. "You have a girl you like? Whose daughter is she? When did you meet? What is her character? Have you exchanged private affections? That won't do!"
Cheng Sinian's mouth twitched. "Where are you going with this! I only said I like a girl, I didn't say the girl and I have anything going on! Your words are too inappropriate!"
Madam Cheng quickly said, "I misspoke. Then tell me, which girl do you fancy? I'll send someone to inquire tomorrow. If that girl's family background and virtues match yours, I'll immediately send someone to propose marriage!"
Cheng Sinian suddenly became coy. "Mother, it's not time yet. She's still a bit young and hasn't reached marriageable age yet. It's not too late to propose after she's of age."
"You know nothing!"
Madam Cheng slapped him. "If that girl is good in all aspects, many families might be eyeing her. When she reaches marriageable age, will she still be available for you?"