The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Although the others looked puzzled, they all followed Ji Lingfeng to the back garden.

They played Pai Gow all afternoon. Winter days are short and it gets dark early, and by now it was completely dark.

Just as Ji Fu was about to ask her older brother why he had come to the back garden, suddenly, the darkness was illuminated.

Brilliant fireworks appeared in the night sky.

"Wow! What beautiful fireworks!" Ji Fu happily grabbed Zhou Zhou's hand and jumped up excitedly.

Under the glow of the fireworks, the girl's smile looked especially sweet.

Seeing this scene, Ji's mother smiled kindly.

She glanced at Ji Lingfeng; her son had grown up and become more humane.

"Big brother, did you prepare this especially for me?"

Ji Fu's eyes shone with light, like fireworks in the light and shadow, and she asked Ji Lingfeng with anticipation.

Ji Lingfeng stared at his younger sister, surprised that she was so happy.

However, seeing her happy is definitely much better than seeing her afraid of me.

He nodded.

Seeing him nod, Ji Fu turned around excitedly, grabbed Zhou Zhou's arm, shook it vigorously, and shouted, "My older brother prepared this for me!"

"My older brother prepared this for me."

"I know, your older brother is the best."

"I'm so happy."

Ji Lingfeng watched from the side, somewhat excited, and Ji Fu, who was completely different from usual, unconsciously curled up the corners of her mouth.

Turns out, making girls happy is so simple.

The Emperor is right, those storybooks are indeed useful.

After the fireworks ended, Ji Fu was still immersed in the joy she had just experienced, and she was reluctant to leave.

From now on, if anyone tries to say in front of her that her older brother treats her badly, she will be the first to object.

On the way back, Ji Lingfeng handed her another box containing a set of pink, gem-encrusted, double-layered, gilded floral and butterfly jewelry: a pair of hairpins, a pair of earrings, and a pair of hair ornaments.

That style is the most fashionable in Kyoto right now. She wanted to buy a hairpin before, but she couldn't bring herself to buy it because she didn't have enough money saved up.

Unexpectedly, her older brother bought the entire set and gave it to her as a gift.

She was overjoyed, feeling as if dazzling fireworks were exploding in her heart.

Zhou Zhou, standing to the side, felt dizzy from being shaken, but she was genuinely happy for Ji Fu. In the past, she had always been the one to celebrate Ji Fu's birthday with her, and she was always happy to do so.

But she knew she was still a little disappointed because her older brother hadn't been with her on her birthday since he went to the border.

This year, her older brother not only stayed with her, but also prepared so much for her.

Even she was very happy.

"This is the happiest birthday I've ever had in my life!" Ji Fu exclaimed happily.

Ji's mother looked at her with doting eyes, "How old are you? This is your whole life."

"That was the happiest birthday I've ever had since I was born."

That evening, Ji Fu happily begged her mother to let her sleep with her, saying she had so much to tell her.

The next day, the two slept until late morning.

As Wang Mama helped the two of them get up, she mentioned, "Madam, I heard from the steward early this morning that the general rode away on horseback last night."

When Ji Lingfeng left, both Ji's mother and Ji Fu were somewhat surprised, but even more so, they felt reluctant to see him go.

After hearing this, Ji Fu felt a little guilty. If it weren't for her birthday, her older brother would definitely have left with Uncle Ma and the others during the day.

Mother Ji gently patted her daughter's shoulder, "Your eldest brother kept it for your birthday."

"You can't think like that, or you'll be letting your older brother down."

Ji Fu nodded, her eyes red-rimmed.

Madam Wang sent someone to bring in the meal. It was originally Madam Ji who had specially instructed the kitchen to prepare Ji Lingfeng's favorite dishes.

The person left last night, so they have to eat it themselves.

After the two finished their meal at a leisurely pace, Wang's mother brought in Butler Ji.

Butler Ji said anxiously, "Miss, Young Master Ma arrived early this morning and is still waiting at the manor!"

Ma Liangcai? She had thought he would come to see her yesterday.

When Ji Fu arrived, she saw Ma Liangcai sitting in the living room, almost asleep.

She waved her hand, signaling Butler Ji to leave first.

She then gestured to the maids on either side to be quiet and not to speak.

She tiptoed up to Ma Liangcai. At this moment, the servant beside Ma Liangcai had already woken up and was about to bow to Ji Fu.

Ji Fu quickly gestured for him to shut up.

She then shouted loudly in Ma Liangcai's ear, "Fire! Fire!!"

Ma Liangcai, who was having a sweet dream, was startled by the sudden sound and stumbled, falling hard to the ground on his bottom.

He looked completely bewildered, clutching his backside, and ran towards the door while shouting for Ma Jiu, "Ma Jiu, quick, quick, the fire's starting!"

When he reached the long corridor by the living room door and realized that Ma Jiu wasn't following him, he realized he had been tricked.

He turned around and saw that everyone in the room was laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight because of his action.

Especially Ma Jiu, that heartless guy, he was laughing so hard he was practically rolling on the ground.

He originally wanted to go and teach him a lesson, but the moment he saw Ji Fu, all his anger vanished.

He put on a smile, walked up to Ji Fu, and took out the gift he had prepared from his pocket. "Ji Fu, this is a birthday present for you."

Ji Fu looked at the jade pendant in his hand; it was rather ugly.

Seemingly sensing Ji Fu's disdain, Ma Liangcai said with a smile, "Don't let its appearance fool you, this is our family heirloom."

Ji Fu waved her hand, "It's too precious, I don't want it."

Ma Liangcai knew she didn't want it, so after putting the jade pendant away, he picked up a box from the table and handed it to her, saying, "I knew you definitely wouldn't accept it, so I prepared something else for you."

"Look, this is a hairpin that I specially bought from the Treasure Pavilion."

"The one you liked before was bought by someone else, so I picked a similar one. Take a look."

Ji Fu opened the box and saw a hairpin that was completely different from the ones she had worn before, but was still in the shape of a butterfly.

She calmly looked at the hairpin that was vastly different from the one her elder brother had bought, and casually waved her hand, telling the maid to put it away.

"You don't like it?"

"Okay."

With such gems already before us, it's indeed difficult to find anything else appealing.

"By the way, why didn't you come yesterday?"

Ma Liangcai touched his nose somewhat guiltily, "Well, I was supposed to come yesterday."

“I was already at the door, but when I heard your older brother was home, I didn’t dare to go any further.”

"You're so promising. Is my older brother that scary?"

Ma Liangcai nodded frantically.

"You know what, your older brother is really as scary as you say."

"Who are you calling scary? What's so scary about my older brother?"

"My older brother is the best older brother in the world."

"Alright, the gift has been delivered and I've accepted it. You should go back now."

"Butler Ji, see the guests out."

Who is this person who dares to say her older brother is scary?

Her older brother is the best older brother in the world.

"No, no, no, I have something to tell you."