As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers watching the excitement were all stunned, and then they began to mutter among themselves.
They had thought the person sitting in the carriage was Lin Yao, returning to see the Lin couple after establishing herself in the Marquisate. But it wasn’t?
Then who was sitting in this carriage? It sounded like a young woman as well.
Zhou Ye did not respond to the chatter. He called out toward the courtyard, “Xiaopu, it’s me. Open the gate.”
A moment later, a thin, frail young girl opened the courtyard gate. She stole a timid glance at the crowd outside before quickly shrinking back.
Zhou Ye entered the kitchen, used a gourd ladle to scoop mountain spring water from a small vat, and drank his fill with loud gulps. Because he drank so quickly, a stream of clear water trickled down his chin, meandered over his bobbing Adam’s apple, and fell onto his firm, sun-bronzed chest.
Once he had quenched his own thirst, he unhurriedly went to the cupboard to find a ceramic bowl without any chips, filled it halfway with water, and went back out.
Zhou Ye brought the water to the carriage window. Soon, a hand as white as shimmering jade reached out and took the ceramic bowl from him. “Thank you, Big Brother.”
Zhou Ye withdrew his hand, unconsciously rubbing his fingertips together, and then frowned.
Regarding the identity of the girl in the carriage, a ridiculous guess had formed in his mind.
While his thoughts were drifting, the sound of small, delicate swallows came from inside the carriage. After the swallowing stopped, the owner of the voice said with joyful excitement, “What sweet water! Nanny, are you really not going to have a taste?”
Someone snorted. “If you love it so much, drink more. You’ll be drinking it every day from now on.”
The empty bowl was handed back out by that hand. The sleeve inadvertently slid down, revealing a small section of a wrist that was whiter than snow and smoother than cream.
Zhou Ye’s gaze flickered away as if he had been burned, and his brow furrowed even tighter.
The guess in his heart became increasingly certain: the woman in the carriage was likely the true daughter of Uncle Lin and Aunt He.
But what was she doing here?
Inside the carriage, Lin Shu had actually wanted to get off and go inside long ago, but hearing that her parents hadn’t returned yet, she stayed in the carriage for the time being to avoid standing around awkwardly like a monkey for the villagers to gawk at. At this moment, just listening to the noise outside through the curtain, she knew that there were at least two layers of people surrounding them.
About fifteen minutes later, the heads of the Lin household finally returned.
Lin Dashan and his wife, He Guixiang, arrived one after the other. Before they could even catch their breath, Shi Qing spoke to them: “The Young Miss of the residence asked me to bring you a message. She is doing well in the Marquisate and asks that you do not worry. This is the silver she asked me to bring; she likely won’t be able to return to fulfill her filial duties in the future, so take this money.”
Ten silver ingots, each worth ten taels—a total of one hundred taels.
This was a massive sum even in the town, let alone in the remote and impoverished Tianshui Village.
“Lin Old Second has struck it rich! He’s struck it rich!”
The onlookers cried out in shock, some shouting for the Lin family to hurry up and take it.
The joy on He Guixiang’s face hadn’t even fully blossomed before it vanished completely, leaving her looking utterly despondent.
Was Yao-er planning to sever ties with her?
Lin Dashan’s face also darkened. He stiffened his neck and refused, “Our family doesn’t want this money. Take it back!”
Shi Qing didn’t try to persuade him; he simply took the silver ingots back. “The message has been delivered. If you don’t want the silver, it will count as payment for my hard work on this trip.”
The villagers of Tianshui Village were all beating their chests and stamping their feet, wishing they could rush over and slap Lin Dashan twice. This was a hundred taels! Why on earth would you choose this moment to be stubborn?!
Inside the carriage, Lin Shu listened with rapt attention, feeling equally pained. How could her father be such a simpleton? Money is money; you should take it!
Confirming that Shi Qing was finished, Lin Shu could not wait to lift the curtain. As soon as her head emerged, the noise outside quieted down.
Lin Shu jumped down from the carriage. She scanned the surroundings, her gaze finally landing on Lin Dashan and He Guixiang. She gave them a shy, pursed-lip smile, looking both obedient and sweet. “Father, Mother, I am Lin Shu, your biological daughter. I told the Marquis and Marchioness that I was coming back to fulfill my filial duties to you. I won’t be going back to the Marquisate.”
As soon as these words were out, Lin Dashan and He Guixiang stared at her in shock, completely forgetting about Lin Yao for a moment.
“Girl, who did you say you are?” Lin Dashan asked tremulously.
Lin Shu walked up to the stunned, beautiful woman, familiarly took her arm, and said to her father, “Father, look at me. Don’t my mother and I look very much alike? Who do you think I am?”
Lin Dashan’s dark face flushed slightly. “You… you are…”
“I am your biological daughter! I occupied Sister Yao’s identity as the Marquis’s daughter for fourteen years, and then stayed in the Marquisate for another two years. Suddenly, I realized that a life of wealth that shouldn’t be mine isn’t mine. Staying there shamelessly only causes trouble for others, so I came back to find my real parents. Father, Mother, you won’t drive me away, will you? If you don’t want me, I’ll be a pitiable little thing with no home to go to.” As she spoke, she looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
Before Lin Dashan could speak, He Guixiang, who had been despondent just a moment ago, suddenly came to life. Due to her excitement, two spots of color appeared on her cheeks. “We want you! Of course we want you! You are my biological daughter; from now on, you will stay in Tianshui Village in peace!”
Lin Shu lightly brushed her finger past the corner of her eye, pulling back the tears that were about to fall, and leaned affectionately against her shoulder. “On the way here, I was worried Mother wouldn’t like me, which made me anxious for a long time. But the moment I saw Mother’s face, I felt a special connection. You look just like my real mother. Mother, do you like me?”
“I like you, I like you!” He Guixiang replied joyfully.
“Father, do you like me, your biological daughter?” Lin Shu looked toward Lin Dashan again.
Lin Dashan struggled for a long time without managing to squeeze out a single word, causing Lin Shu to let out a light laugh. “Father, don’t say anything. I know you like me. When I was in the Marquisate, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t like me.”
Nanny Gui, who was sitting in the carriage and didn’t want to get down: … You are truly shameless, daring to weave such lies.
In the past, Nanny Gui would have exposed her hypocritical face without hesitation, but at this moment, she was too tired to bother.
Fine. The once arrogant and pampered daughter of the Marquisate would now spend the rest of her life in this impoverished, remote place. For her, wasn’t this a form of revenge?
Calling it “revenge” was a bit much; it was just that she had bad luck. Her husband and only son had passed away one after the other. Later, she had taken a clever maid in the residence as her goddaughter, only for the girl to be sold off by Lin Shu because of a minor mistake.
The goddaughter was indeed pitiable, but in the end, she wasn’t blood-related; Nanny Gui just couldn’t swallow her anger.
Halfway here, Nanny Gui had already regretted it.
She had originally wanted to witness Lin Shu’s miserable state upon returning to the destitute village, but who would have expected this girl could eat dry rations more enthusiastically than a pig and sleep on a hard wooden bed soundly until dawn? Returning to this small, broken mountain village was like a bird returning to the forest—she was chirping with happiness. Instead, it was her own old body that felt like its bones were falling apart after the journey.
Thinking that she had to go through it all again on the way back, Nanny Gui nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. She must have had water in her brain to insist on asking the Marchioness for this “favor”!
Seeing that Nanny Gui didn’t refute her, Lin Shu breathed a small sigh of relief. “Nanny, Uncle Shi Qing, thank you for escorting me all this way and letting me meet my biological parents. From now on, I am Lin Shu of Tianshui Village, and I have nothing more to do with the Marquisate. Please bring a message for me: thank you to the Marquis and Marchioness for these sixteen years of upbringing. Lin Shu has no way to repay them, only to return the favor in the next life.”
Shi Qing did not expose Lin Shu’s little trick, but he didn’t respond to her words either. He only replied, “Take care, Young Miss,” while Nanny Gui didn’t even get out of the carriage.
The two drove the carriage away and soon left this impoverished land.
“Father, Mother, let’s go home and continue talking.”
Lin Shu smiled shyly at the villagers. “Uncles, aunts, sisters-in-law, we’ll have plenty of time together in the future. Once I’m familiar with the place, I’ll chat with you all.”
The villagers watching the excitement responded quickly, but they were still reluctant to leave, staring at her with wonder.
It wasn’t until the Lin family closed their courtyard gate that the villagers returned to their respective homes. On the way back, they were still discussing the matter.
Heavens, heavens, this is incredible!
They didn’t expect that Lin Yao wouldn’t return, but instead, the young lady pampered for sixteen years by the Marquisate had come back!
Even though this was Lin Old Second’s biological daughter, this person had been raised as a real heiress for over a decade.
Even without wearing silks and satins, only dressed in a set of fine cloth, her overall aura clearly showed the upbringing of a great family!
That face was clearly seventy percent similar to Aunt He’s, yet it was even more delicate and moving than He Guixiang had been in her youth—so tender it looked like it could produce water if pinched!