At that moment, Zhaodi also stood up.
The golden light of the setting sun outlined the side of her smiling face. Her eyes curved into crescent moons, and her gentle smile made her look like a fairy who had fallen from heaven.
Everyone suddenly felt as if they had stepped out of a harsh desert and into a peaceful countryside.
Even more surprising, they could see Madam Song’s shadow in this girl.
Especially when she smiled, she looked more and more like Madam Song.
Song Hailan widened his eyes.
Even Song Yannian frowned and fell into deep thought.
For a moment, an eerie silence filled the air.
Only the sound of the river flowing could be heard.
After a long while, Song Hailan finally broke the silence.
“Father, have I become obsessed with thinking about my little sister every day? Why does every girl I see look like her?”
Deputy General Liang rolled his eyes and whispered,
“General Song… Is it possible… that both of them are your daughters?”
Song Yannian glared at him.
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“We’ll stay at the inn nearby first. We’ll deal with confirming their identities tomorrow.”
“Yes, General.”
The group rode away.
Zhaodi watched them leave.
The smile on her face slowly disappeared.
They had left without answering her question.
Song Li, however, was completely satisfied.
After all, they had given their first glance to her.
The second glance they gave to Zhaodi naturally would not be as shocking.
She could understand that.
Hehe.
She had achieved her goal today.
In the original novel, Deputy General Liang had immediately crossed the river and taken Zhaodi away.
Today, he did not take either of them.
However, his attitude clearly leaned more toward Song Li.
The only reason he did not act was because Zhaodi had suddenly appeared, making him hesitate.
The two girls quietly continued washing clothes without speaking.
Song Li secretly glanced at Zhaodi.
She noticed that Zhaodi’s face was unnaturally red, and her eyes were filled with unwillingness and embarrassment.
When Zhaodi realized Song Li was watching her, she suddenly turned around.
“Why did you come out?”
“Why did you have to come out?”
“What were you trying to do?”
She fired off three angry questions in a row.
Song Li blinked, looking confused about why Zhaodi was so angry.
“You’re my best friend. As long as I still have even a little strength, I can’t let you suffer alone.”
Zhaodi stared into Song Li’s innocent eyes.
Then she looked at the half basket of clothes she had already washed.
Her anger had nowhere to go.
She threw the clothes down and muttered as she walked away,
“Of all times… Why now…”
Song Li’s head still felt heavy, and waves of cold ran through her body.
But her mood was excellent.
The right people always appear at the right time.
And the wrong people always leave at the right time.
Just like now.
…
Not far away, Song Hailan slowed down.
He had already fallen far behind the rest of the group.
Song Li lowered her head and carefully scrubbed the clothes one by one.
A long string of mucus hung from her nose, but she ignored it completely.
Only when a tall figure stopped beside her did she finally look up.
Her nose still had two clear streams of mucus hanging from it.
Her hands were red, swollen, and trembling from the cold.
Yet her eyes remained firm and determined.
Song Hailan was stunned once again.
“You…”
He took out a clean white handkerchief from his sleeve and reached over to wipe her nose.
Song Li turned her head away.
She blew her nose into the river, then washed her nose with the icy river water.
Only after cleaning herself up did she ask calmly,
“What do you want, sir?”
Looking at her red cheeks and nose, Song Hailan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
“What is your name?”
Song Li raised an eyebrow.
“Why should I tell you?”
He quickly explained,
“I won’t hurt you. I just want to know your name.”
Song Li ignored him.
She quietly placed the washed clothes back into the basket one by one.
Then she bent down and lifted the huge basket onto her small back.
Under Song Hailan’s hopeful gaze, she slowly walked away with her back bent from the heavy load.
Song Hailan looked at her thin, fragile figure.
She was barely taller than the basket she carried.
His chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.
He hurried after her and lifted the basket with one hand.
“Little sister, I’m really not a bad person.”
“I just want to talk to you.”
“Here, have this bag of pine nut candy.”
“I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
Song Li ignored him the entire time.
He did not get angry.
When they were about ten meters from the entrance, he suddenly stuffed the bag of pine nut candy into Song Li’s arms without giving her a chance to refuse.
Just as Song Li was about to give it back, the door opened.
Zhaodi came out, holding the arm of an older girl.
The older girl gently asked,
“Young master, did my little sister offend you in some way?”
The older girl had a pink-and-white flower in her hair.
Her smile was graceful and polite.
Song Li remembered her.
Her name was Luoyu.
It was not her real name but the nickname given to her by the manager of Charity Hall.
She had just turned fourteen this year.
She was fairly pretty and was about to be sold.
It was said that the buyer was an old wealthy landowner.
Luoyu knew her own fate.
She did not mind being sold.
To her, it was a chance to gain wealth and luxury.
The only thing she disliked was the old man who had bought her.
She had been sighing about it lately.
Since Luoyu behaved so politely, Song Hailan found it difficult to leave.
“Not at all.”
He cupped his hands politely.
“I simply felt a connection with this little sister and chatted with her for a while.”
Luoyu smiled beautifully.
The curve of her lips was perfectly measured.
“That’s good. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my little sister home now.”
Song Hailan nodded.
Taking the opportunity, Zhaodi smiled and said goodbye.
Once again, her eyes curved into the same crescent shape as Madam Song’s.
But this time…
Song Hailan felt nothing.
Her perfectly practiced smile seemed dull and lifeless.
Instead, the only person who stayed in his mind was the little girl carrying the huge basket.
He kept staring at her back.
He hoped she would turn around and say goodbye.
He wanted to see her stubborn face one more time.
But even after the door slowly closed…
Song Li never looked back.
Song Hailan stood outside the door in a daze.
In his hazy thoughts, he seemed to hear a voice say,
“Just wait. I’ll charm you to death!”
He assumed it was one of the girls inside talking.
He paid no attention and turned to leave.
His mind was filled only with Song Li’s determined eyes…
And those two stubborn little streams of mucus hanging from her nose.
Like a balloon, the image kept growing bigger and bigger.
It pushed the other two fake smiling faces completely out of his mind until only Song Li remained.
“Tomorrow…”
“I’ll see her again tomorrow.”
He quietly told himself.
…
Inside the room…
Luoyu suddenly shook Song Li’s hand away and sneered.
“So, you’ve caught the attention of an important young master. Now you don’t even want to talk to us anymore.”
Song Li laughed inwardly.
I’m not a matchmaker.
I’m only a ten-year-old child right now.
Do they really expect me to introduce people to each other?
How ridiculous.
She smiled and said,
“Big Sister, don’t tease me. How is he an important person? And how has he taken a liking to me? He only came to ask for Zhaodi’s name. He even asked me to bring this bag of pine nut candy to her.”
Song Li looked teasingly at Zhaodi.
She opened the bag, grabbed a handful for herself first, and then handed the rest over.
“I don’t care. Since I carried it back for you, I’m eating a few extra pieces!”
The gloomy expression on Zhaodi’s face instantly bloomed into a bright smile.
“You really never behave yourself! You’re sick, yet you still won’t stay in bed. You always make me worry.”
Song Li quickly begged for forgiveness.
“Good Zhaodi, good big sister, I know I was wrong. Then could you please hang the clothes out to dry? I’ll go lie down on the heated bed.”
Zhaodi’s smile stiffened for a moment.
But she quickly returned to her cheerful expression.
“Go and rest. Leave this little job to me.”
Song Li put a piece of pine nut candy into her mouth and comfortably lay down on the warm brick bed.
People often came to Charity Hall to donate money.
To keep up appearances, the quilts were thick.
The children gathered and chopped their own firewood.
Every night, the brick bed was heated until it was warm and cozy.
At least she did not have to suffer from the cold.
Pine nut candy, however, was a rare treat in a place like this.
The younger girls were overjoyed and gathered around Zhaodi, asking for candy.
Zhaodi smiled as she prepared to share it.
But Luoyu suddenly snatched the candy away.
Zhaodi did not dare say a word.
She obediently picked up the clothes and went outside to hang them up.
The room immediately became quiet.
Luoyu was in a bad mood, and the younger girls hardly dared to breathe.
Charity Hall had always taught its children to climb into wealthy families.
The children competed with one another both openly and secretly.
There was no such thing as true sisterly love here.
Besides…
The original novel mentioned that several girls in this room, who looked honest and trustworthy, had already been bribed by the mysterious man.
If the Song family asked about the jade pendant, they would all insist that it belonged to Zhaodi.
Song Li carefully looked at every girl’s face.
Sure enough, there were several girls with kind and honest-looking appearances.
But even if she knew who they were, it would not help.
She had no money to bribe them back.
So she had no way to prove her innocence.
The only thing she could do was use indirect methods and avoid confronting Zhaodi directly.
After thinking through several backup plans, her feverish head grew heavier and heavier.
Before long, she fell asleep.
She had no idea how long she had been sleeping.
Just as she was sleeping soundly, someone gently shook her awake.
When she opened her eyes, the sky outside was still completely dark.
Then she heard Zhaodi’s soft voice beside her.
“Song Li… it’s time to take your medicine.”