“Sometimes the young master speaks softly, but when he does, he amazes everyone,” said Nanny Yun, Old Madame Ruan’s most trusted attendant, as she stepped forward and reached out both hands to help Ruan Mianmian to his feet.
“Huh?” Ruan Mianmian repeated with a slightly blank look. “What do you mean ‘amazes everyone’? Nanny, can you say that again? Mianmian doesn’t understand.”
The soft, adorable little child Ruan Mianmian wore a face full of confusion, and his childish way of speaking only made him seem more innocent. Old Madame Ruan couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing this, everyone in the main hall followed suit, and the tense atmosphere instantly eased.
“Old Madame, the young master is truly adorable,” Nanny Yun praised.
“Mianmian, come to Grandmother. Your fever has broken—I’ll have the residence physician take a look at you later.” Old Madame Ruan touched Ruan Mianmian’s forehead. “You should go back and rest properly.”
With that, Old Madame Ruan stood up. “Everyone may disperse. I am tired as well.”
Nanny Yun stepped forward to support Old Madame Ruan, and everyone respectfully saw her off.
Chen Wanyu followed closely behind Old Madame Ruan, walking hurriedly—it seemed she was going to see Qin Ruolan.
As Gu Qingrou passed by Zhou Yunning, she gave her a rare slight smile before slowly walking away.
It wasn’t until Zhou Yunning took Ruan Mianmian’s small hand and felt the warmth from her palm that her heart finally settled.
“Mother, let’s go back.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Hand in hand, they silently walked toward the rear courtyard. In the past, Ruan Mianmian rarely spoke, and the two of them had long grown accustomed to this way of being together.
The undercurrents in the hall just now had all fallen within Ruan Mianmian’s eyes. It seemed this Marquis Ding’an’s Residence was far more complicated and interesting than she had imagined.
That’s right—the Ruan Mianmian of this moment was no longer the Ruan Mianmian of the past. And whether past or present, he was her—a genuine girl.
The original owner had fallen into the water and developed a high fever, and in the latter half of last night she had breathed her last. She, however, had transmigrated from the modern era—a Ruan Mianmian with the same name and surname.
The genius girl Ruan Mianmian had merely been working in the laboratory for several days and nights without sleep, and with one dizzy spell, she had actually transmigrated into the body of a three-year-old child in ancient times.
Perhaps because of the fever, and because she was unaccustomed to this body, Ruan Mianmian had remained in a daze.
The modern Ruan Mianmian, the ancient Ruan Mianmian—past, future—countless scenes flashed through her mind.
Come to think of it, she really owed thanks to Qin Ruolan’s basin of cold water. Pouring it over her head had restored Ruan Mianmian’s clarity.
The original Ruan Mianmian was the posthumous child of Ruan Qi, the youngest son of Marquis Ding’an. Her father had been doted on since childhood, yet because of his love for Zhou Yunning—a match that was not of equal social standing—he had stirred up a great uproar in the Ruan family.
Though they could not overcome their son’s will and the old Marquis and his wife ultimately had no choice but to agree to their marriage, they had always harbored dissatisfaction toward Zhou Yunning.
Three years ago, Ruan Qi accidentally fell into the water. Though no body was ever recovered, because it was a dangerous shoal where no one who fell in had ever survived, everyone in the residence tacitly assumed he had met his end.
On the very night Ruan Qi met with his accident, Zhou Yunning gave birth to a daughter—Ruan Mianmian.
Heartbroken, Zhou Yunning refused to believe Ruan Qi was dead. In order to stay in the Marquis Residence and wait for a glimmer of hope, she disguised Ruan Mianmian, who was originally a girl, as a son.
For several years, Zhou Yunning endured her mother-in-law’s coldness, her sisters-in-law’s mockery, and the servants’ humiliation as she waited for her husband’s return.
The old Marquis and his wife, having lost their son, were grief-stricken. Toward Zhou Yunning and her child, they held both their previous dissatisfaction and the sorrow of seeing them and being reminded of their loss, so they neglected them and paid them no mind.
Even when Ruan Mianmian was born, he had only glanced from afar before leaving the mother and daughter to fend for themselves.
Those in the household with ill intentions followed the shifting winds, and Zhou Yunning and her son were driven to Liluoju, the most remote corner of the back courtyard. With only the maid Shuang’er to attend them, their days were worse than those of the more respectable servants.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed. Ruan Mianmian had grown delicate and refined, often said to have a boy’s body but a girl’s face. She was timid by nature, and aside from occasionally saying a word or two in front of her mother, she scarcely spoke at all outside.
Everyone in the Marquis household knew that the third branch’s rather good-looking young master was a mute, and so he was frequently bullied. Qin Ruolan, the cousin young miss, in particular, never missed an opportunity to target and torment him.
When Ruan Mianmian came back to her senses and looked up, Liluoju was not far ahead. This was where they had lived for over three years.
Liluoju was, in fact, just three wooden huts enclosed by a fence to form a small courtyard. Compared to the pavilions and towers in the front, it had a certain charm of its own, but by contrast it seemed exceedingly shabby.
Shuang’er had been watching from outside the courtyard gate. Seeing them return, she hurried forward to greet them.
“Third Madam, Young Master, are you all right?”
“We’re fine.” Zhou Yunning glanced at Ruan Mianmian. “Let’s go inside.”
Once they entered the wooden hut, Zhou Yunning and Ruan Mianmian had just sat down when Shuang’er came in carrying teacups.
“Third Madam, there’s no tea left. Please have some water to moisten your throats, you and the Young Master.”
Ruan Mianmian was truly thirsty. She took the cup and drank it all. “Thank you, Shuang’er jiejie.”
“Shuang’er, you may withdraw.” Zhou Yunning had grown suspicious earlier in the main hall.
A mother and child share a bond; it was no wonder Zhou Yunning sensed something off about Ruan Mianmian. After all, the exterior was unchanged, but the soul within was different.
On the way back, Ruan Mianmian had already thought it over. Telling the whole truth might break Zhou Yunning’s heart, and she might not be able to accept it. Besides, the truth was too bizarre.
After weighing it repeatedly, Ruan Mianmian decided to tell only part of it and save the rest for another time.
In the room, only mother and child remained face to face. Zhou Yunning hesitated, wanting to ask clearly but not knowing where to begin.
Ruan Mianmian threw herself at Zhou Yunning, wrapping her arms around her neck. A warmth flowed through them both in that instant.
How wonderful! Feeling maternal love, Ruan Mianmian’s eyes reddened. She couldn’t help pressing her small face against Zhou Yunning’s cheek, the mother and daughter very affectionate.
“Mother, last night when I had a high fever, I had a very, very long dream. In the dream, after I fell into the water and ran a high fever, I died of illness.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Zhou Yunning covered Ruan Mianmian’s mouth.
Gently pulling Zhou Yunning’s hand away, Ruan Mianmian continued, “Don’t worry, listen to me.”
“All right, Mother is listening.”
“After I died, it was discovered that I had been disguised as a boy. Someone with ill intentions and a cruel heart framed me as not being Father’s child. You, your reputation ruined, were driven out of the Marquis household, but you refused to leave and lingered outside the Marquis gates.”
Zhou Yunning’s pupils contracted sharply. She had been in the Marquis household less than a year when Ruan Qi met with misfortune. For Mianmian’s sake, she had kept a low profile and endured in silence, never even contacting her natal family.
If even the child’s and her own reputations could not be protected, then wouldn’t her years of endurance seem laughable?
Thinking it over carefully, Zhou Yunning grew more and more convinced that Ruan Mianmian’s dream was no simple matter. If she truly were driven out of the Marquis household, she would have no face to return to her natal family, nor would she leave the Capital. She could only stay outside the Marquis gates, bitterly waiting for Ruan Qi to return.
“Winter was especially cold. You couldn’t hold on any longer, suffering from hunger and cold. You collapsed at the bottom of the steps before the Marquis’s front gate, calling out the names of Daddy and me. The snow was falling heavily, slowly burying you as it settled on your body…”
Ruan Mianmian burst into tears and could not continue. She was not lying—in her dazed and muddled state, she had indeed seen these scenes.