Marquis Manor, Main Hall.
Marquis Yong’an and the Marchioness sat high at the head, while Lin Siqiong and her daughter Lin Ruoli took their seats to the left below.
Lin Ruoli was only five years old, yet her demeanor was dignified, steady, and composed. Sitting in her chair, her back was ramrod straight, her expression noble and aloof.
She frowned slightly, showing a hint of displeasure. “Who can unravel Qin Palace’s Single Pill? Marking time is easy, but keeping it is hard.”
Though the five-year-old girl recited the poem with measured cadence and strict precision, her steadiness lacked the innocent liveliness typical of a child.
Hearing this, Lin Siqiong shot Lin Ruoli a reproachful look. “Li’er! Don’t speak out of turn. We’re all family here; waiting a little longer is no trouble.”
As she spoke, Lin Siqiong smiled toward Marquis Yong’an and the Marchioness. “Father, Mother, please don’t be upset. Elder Sister must have been delayed by some matter, that’s why—”
“Hmph!” Marquis Yong’an snorted coldly. “What business could a commoner woman possibly have? Truly, having grown up adrift outside, she lacks proper upbringing!”
The Marchioness’s eyes reddened, tears welling up in them. “It’s all my fault. If only I had found her sooner, she wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
Marquis Yong’an faltered, unable to criticize further, and could only turn his head away with a cold expression.
Watching this scene, Lin Siqiong hid her hands in her sleeves, her nails digging into her palms.
As expected, they still favor their own flesh and blood!
They haven’t even met her yet, and they’re already taking her side!
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the hall. Before long, a clear, handsome young man walked in.
As soon as he entered, he announced brightly, “Father, Mother, Elder Sister, I’ve brought them back.”
Following his words, a mother and daughter walked hand in hand into the hall.
The Marchioness immediately stood up and hurried over with reddened eyes, grabbing Yu Tingwan’s arm. “Daughter! My daughter! You’ve finally returned! I’ve finally found you!”
Her voice choked with sobs, tears streaming down her face.
Yu Tingwan’s skin was very fair, making the slight redness around her eyes especially noticeable. She, too, was teary-eyed. “Mother… are you really my mother…?”
Lin Siqiong walked over with a smile at this moment. “What kind of talk is that, Elder Sister? Of course this is Mother! Does Elder Sister not even recognize her own mother?”
Hearing this, the Marchioness’s weeping halted abruptly.
Yu Youniang then looked up. Her delicate, fair, and plump little face was as soft and round as freshly cooked sesame rice balls, so tender it made one want to reach out and poke it.
Yu Youniang blinked her large, dark eyes that shone like stars. “This auntie speaks so strangely. My mother has never met Grandmother before, so how could she possibly recognize her?”
Only then did the Marchioness realize, nodding repeatedly. “That’s right! This is our first meeting as mother and daughter; it’s only natural to be uncertain! It’s all that wicked woman’s fault, daring to secretly switch her own child with mine, causing us to be separated for so many years!”
“Mother!” Lin Siqiong’s face instantly paled, her eyes turning completely red, her body trembling slightly. “It’s all my fault. I stole Elder Sister’s place…”
Lin Yu quickly stepped forward, looking at the Marchioness with displeasure. “Mother, what does this have to do with Elder Sister? She was just a newborn baby at the time!”
The Marchioness immediately released Yu Tingwan’s hand and pulled Lin Siqiong into her embrace. “Yu’er is right, this has nothing to do with you. You are innocent too. Let’s not dwell on the past anymore. We are a family now, and we should just live well together from now on!”
Lin Siqiong continued to weep, her face filled with guilt and sorrow. “It’s all my fault. If only I had never been born… I cannot face my sister. If she refuses to forgive me, I would rather die…”
“You foolish child! What are you saying!” The Marchioness felt even more heartbroken. “I already said it’s not your fault. Don’t talk about dying. How could your sister blame you? Tingwan, hurry up and tell your sister you don’t blame her.”
Yu Tingwan’s hand fell limply to her side, her heart sinking to the depths.
Was this the birth mother she had longed for all these years?
Upon their first meeting, instead of asking how she had been all these years, whether she had suffered or endured hardships, she was asked to forgive this False Young Miss who had taken her place!
At this thought, a bitter smile escaped the corner of Yu Tingwan’s lips.
Seeing her mother like this, Yu Youniang felt heartbroken. She quickly reached out her small hand and tightly grasped her mother’s.
She wanted to protect her mother!
She wouldn’t let these people who had just met them bully her mother!
“Grandmother, it was my mother who was lost for over twenty years. This aunt has been the young lady of the Marquis Manor for over twenty years. Why is she crying?
Is it because she saw my mother reunited with her birth mother, but she couldn’t return to her own birth mother, so she feels sad?”
The two who had been weeping in each other’s arms suddenly stopped crying and turned their attention to Yu Youniang.
Yu Youniang blinked her big, round eyes, which sparkled with innocence, and continued in her childish voice, “When Youniang thinks about being separated from her mother, she feels like crying too! Since Grandmother cares so much for this aunt, why not let her go back to find her own birth mother?”
Lin Siqiong panicked and, without thinking, quickly looked at the Marchioness. “Mother, I—”
She wanted to explain but found herself at a loss for words.
What could she say?
Say she didn’t want to return to her birth mother? That would make her seem like someone clinging to power and wealth.
Say she wanted to return to her birth mother? That would mean leaving the Marquis Yong’an’s household.
As she hesitated, Lin Ruoli’s voice came from behind.
“Grandmother, as soon as my aunt and her daughter return, are they trying to drive my mother and me away? Although my mother is not your biological daughter, she has attended upon at your knee and diligently fulfilled her filial piety all these years without fail! Does closeness in this world really only depend on blood ties?”
Yu Youniang followed the voice and saw a little girl about her own age walking gracefully toward them.
Her posture was dignified, each step measured as if with a ruler.
Her small head was adorned with an intricate hairstyle, and a gilded phoenix hairpin was tucked into it. From the phoenix’s beak hung a string of golden tassels, which swayed only slightly as she moved.
Beautiful as she was, it all seemed a bit too deliberate.
Looking at Lin Ruoli, the Marchioness finally snapped back to reality. She wiped the tears from her face and smiled. “Li’er is right. Siqiong grew up under my care, and I regard her as my own daughter. The Marquis Manor is her home, so there’s no need for her to return to anyone else. From now on, let’s just live together as a happy family!”
Lin Ruoli looked at Yu Youniang, her eyes icy and her voice devoid of emotion, her posture even more haughty. “Grandmother, is there any way to verify her true identity? I don’t mean anything by it—I just worry we might have found the wrong person and gotten your hopes up for nothing.”
The Marchioness smiled dotingly. “Ruoli may be young, but she thinks ahead! There is indeed a way to verify her true identity!”