The room was in chaos.
Tian Denghua held Song Yanyan tightly, calling her name repeatedly.
Even the eldest son of the Song family, Song Risheng, and his wife Qi Lian rushed joyfully to the edge of the kang, anxiously watching Song Yanyan lying there.
Song Yanyan opened her eyes, feeling that the invisible force restraining her had completely vanished.
As Tian Denghua held her in her arms, she cautiously moved her arms and legs.
Hmm, good—she could really move!
Song Yanyan also looked at Tian Denghua with teary eyes. "Mother, I'm so hungry."
Qi Lian jumped up. "I'll go make porridge for Yanyan!" She hurriedly lifted the door curtain and left.
Tian Denghua called after her, "Don't forget to add an egg!"
"Yes! I know, Mother!"
Tian Denghua quietly turned away, wiped her tears, then turned back and slapped Song Yanyan on the back, scolding, "I told you to be steady and careful, but you wouldn't listen! Look at you, falling like this!"
Song Yanyan gasped sharply. "Ouch—"
Song Risheng anxiously said, "Mother, Yanyan just woke up. Why are you hitting her?"
Tian Denghua panicked, filled with regret and worry, and quickly examined her. "Did I hit you too hard, Yanyan? Where does it hurt?"
Tears welled in Song Yanyan's eyes. "I feel dizzy…"
Tian Denghua carefully held Song Yanyan, growing even more remorseful and self-reproachful. "I should have at least waited until you were better before hitting you."
"Wah…"
A crying sound came from beside them.
Song Yanyan turned her head to look at Luo Jinyu kneeling on the kang, her eyes flashing with a frostiness that did not match her innocent age.
It had to be said that Luo Jinyu, the true daughter who had been swapped and ended up among commoners, was exceptionally beautiful. Her features were like a painting, with a touch of timid delicacy—truly a heaven-sent, resilient little white flower.
The true daughter Luo Jinyu looked tearful, sobbing as she explained to Song Yanyan, "Sister, please don't blame me. Seeing how much your mother loves you, I couldn't help but think of my own mother… Unfortunately, she passed away from illness, and I can only see her in my dreams now."
If Song Yanyan weren't so weak at the moment, she would have almost jumped up!
What is this wretched girl trying to pull here?!
As if she didn't know?!
This wretched girl had been swapped out of the Princess's mansion in her swaddling clothes and raised from childhood by scheming people to become a shouma. Later, the madam who raised her got into trouble and was pursued relentlessly. While fleeing in panic with the madam, this wretched girl had a change of heart, slipped away, and eventually collapsed at their doorstep!
What deceased mother?!
What nonsense about missing a deceased mother—this wretched girl was clearly trying to stir her mother's pity!
Sure enough, Tian Denghua's gaze toward Luo Jinyu, the original novel's female lead, was now filled with compassion. Her lips moved slightly, and she almost uttered the words "poor child."
Song Yanyan's internal alarm bells rang loudly!
Without hesitation, she weakly nestled into her mother's arms, whimpering and cooing, "Mother, I feel so unwell…"
Tian Denghua immediately set aside her pity for Luo Jinyu and anxiously held Song Yanyan. "Where does it hurt?… Was it because I hit you too hard just now?"
Tian Denghua was filled with regret. "…My terrible temper! Why can't I control myself? I should have at least waited until you were better before hitting you!"
Song Yanyan huddled in Tian Denghua’s embrace, clearly seeing the flash of coldness in Luo Jinyu’s eyes.
Song Yanyan lowered her gaze, thinking indignantly, This true daughter Luo Jinyu really is no good! I merely stole a bit of Mother’s attention, and she’s already showing her temper! What will happen in the future?!
The moment she recalled the dream of her entire family being slaughtered and meeting a tragic end on that rainy night, Song Yanyan wished she could bite this true daughter Luo Jinyu to death.
What a piece of work!
If not for the modern soul within Song Yanyan retaining some rationality, knowing she couldn’t seek retribution for something that hadn’t happened yet, she would have already called for her eldest brother to drag Luo Jinyu, this harbinger of disaster, outside and finish her off under the cover of a dark and windy night!
While Song Yanyan cursed inwardly, Tian Denghua’s anxious and remorseful self-blame beside her ear brought her back to her senses.
Song Yanyan lifted her slightly pale little face toward Tian Denghua and comforted her, “…Don’t worry, Mother. I must have been too hungry.”
Tian Denghua breathed a slight sigh of relief, then complained to Song Risheng, “Yanyan has been lying here for three days; she must be starving. Go hurry your wife along and tell her to be quicker!”
“Right away, right away,” Song Risheng replied repeatedly. Just as he was about to rush off, the thick door curtain was lifted from outside—it was Qi Lian returning, holding a bowl of steaming hot porridge.
The porridge was topped with a poached egg, looking incredibly tempting.
Song Yanyan was truly hungry. She took the bowl of hot porridge and began devouring it ravenously.
Tian Denghua couldn’t help but chide from the side, “Slow down, slow down. No one’s going to snatch it from you.”
Meanwhile, Luo Jinyu sat slumped on the kang, staring blankly before silently beginning to weep.
It had to be said—truly worthy of being the daughter of the Princess—although this true daughter was around the same age as Song Yanyan at this time, she had clearly bloomed into beauty earlier than Song Yanyan, who was still a little girl not yet fully grown.
Her silent weeping was extremely beautiful: her nose slightly red, teardrops as large as beans rolling from her eyes, yet she didn’t utter a single word. That delicate, timid yet resilient appearance was utterly pitiable.
Song Yanyan only watched coldly between bites, saying nothing, her heart utterly hardened.
There’s no need to show this true daughter even a hint of kindness. Her logic is completely different from that of normal people!
The true daughter only remembered the chores the Song family made her do, forgetting all those years—who fed her, who clothed her!
The entire Song family hadn’t treated her poorly either. When Tian Denghua bought two copper hairpins at the market, she couldn’t bear to wear them herself—one was given to Song Yanyan, and the other to Luo Jinyu!
But what about Luo Jinyu? She only remembered those years in the Song family when she didn’t eat well and had to do farm work!
After she was recognized and brought back to the Princess’s estate, to stir the Princess’s pity, she poured out a torrent of grievances about the hardships she had suffered all those years outside.
The Princess flew into a rage, saying she would teach the Song family a lesson. Not only did Luo Jinyu not speak a single word in the Song family’s defense, she even allowed the Princess’s hidden guards to slaughter the entire Song family!
Recalling the dream of her entire family being hacked to death, Song Yanyan grew angrier the more she thought about it.
After finishing the poached egg, once her stomach felt warm and full and strength returned to her limbs, Song Yanyan fixed her gaze on Luo Jinyu and spoke softly, “Mother, I keep forgetting to ask—who is this? Why is she in our home?”
Seeing Song Yanyan happily holding her bowl and eating heartily, Tian Denghua could tell she was no longer in serious danger, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense for days, finally settled completely. Hearing Song Yanyan mention Luo Jinyu, Tian Denghua hesitated for a moment: "This little girl fainted at our doorstep. On such a cold day, I felt sorry for her, so I brought her inside…"
Song Yanyan's expression changed dramatically, her already round apricot eyes widening: "So what happened in the dream was actually true!"
Tian Denghua was startled: "What's true or false?"
Song Yanyan wore a face full of worry: "Mother, you might not believe it, but these past three days, though I was unconscious, I kept drifting in and out of dreams. I even dreamed of a white-bearded old Taoist who told me that the reason I fell unconscious was because a little noble person would come to our home. But this noble person's fate is too grand—she belongs to a family of great wealth and honor, and our household simply cannot bear it."
Not only was Tian Denghua stunned, but even Luo Jinyu was left dumbfounded.