(A mindless, self-indulgent story with various displays of dominance and face-slapping. Deposit your brain here!)
(Hope everyone enjoys the read!)
…
“Mother, Mother, does she really not want me anymore?” Liu Shiqi’s voice was wretched as she clung to an old woman’s waist, refusing to let go.
Snot and tears were smeared all over the old woman’s clothes.
The old woman’s face crumpled like a withered chrysanthemum in disgust. She forcefully pried Liu Shiqi’s hands off, gritted her teeth, and sneered.
“Stop that senseless shouting! You were never the Eldest Miss of the Liu family to begin with; you were just switched at birth. The real Eldest Miss is Liu Qiao. Oh, no, the Eldest Miss has changed her name now; she is called Liu Shiqiao!”
“As for you, you fake, stop pestering us!”
“Liu Shiqi, don’t you dare step foot near our Liu Manor again! Otherwise, don’t blame the Master and Madam for being heartless…”
“Even I, an old servant, will beat you every time I see you…”
“Do you hear me?”
At the entrance of Haojiagou Village, Liu Shiqi’s eyes were brimming with tears.
At twelve years old, she was no match for the strength of the Liu family’s coarse labor maid. She was eventually wrenched away and pushed to the ground.
Unwilling to stay a moment longer for fear that Liu Shiqi would shamelessly cling to her again, the old woman hopped onto the ox cart and sped away.
She hadn’t left Liu Shiqi a single thing.
Liu Shiqi watched the ox cart disappear into the distance while sobbing, and only then did she stop her crying.
She wiped away her tears and snot, let out a cold snort, and patted her buttocks as she stood up.
She cursed in her heart, 【Pah, that old hag is finally gone! She actually wanted to frisk me? Not a chance!】
【My private savings and the ’emotional distress compensation’ the Liu Manor owes me are all tucked away on my person!】
【The people of Liu Manor are truly bastards, not letting me take anything. Luckily, I was prepared!】
The three people hurrying toward her from behind suddenly froze.
Their eyes widened, staring at her in disbelief.
Huh, what was that sound?
Who was speaking?
They looked around, but there was no one else!
Was it a hallucination…
【Today is a good day, everything I wish for will come true, today…】
Why did it sound like someone was singing?
The three of them were completely bewildered…
Liu Shiqi hummed a little tune in her mind, happily fishing a cloth pouch out from her bosom.
Then, with her other hand, she poked around in her hairband and picked out several pieces of broken silver, dropping them into the bag.
She fished out two thin gold leaves from her waist and dropped them into the bag.
From her sleeves, she pulled out two strings of copper coins and dropped them into the bag as well.
From the back of her collar, she pulled out a thin cord strung with pearl earrings, several hairpins, and other jewelry, all of which were exquisitely crafted.
She casually picked a white jade hairpin and stuck it in her hair. The rest, she tossed into the bag.
Then she was seen pulling a silver banknote out of her sock…
Before long, the bag was stuffed full.
…
Meanwhile, at the Liu family home in the county seat, Liu Shiqiao had just finished her birthday celebration and returned to her room in excitement.
She was finally the true Eldest Miss of the Liu Manor!
From now on, she would have fine clothes and gourmet food. In the future, she would find a wealthy young lord to be her husband!
Suppressing her excitement, she dismissed her maids and hurried to open the birthday gifts everyone had given her.
The first small box—she remembered it was from her younger male cousin.
She opened it and was instantly stunned.
Uh… inside there was only… one copper coin!
One?
Copper coin?
Perhaps she had opened it the wrong way?
Or maybe her cousin was too young and… didn’t have money to buy a gift?
She pursed her lips and opened another box. This one was from her elder male cousin; judging by the box, it looked very valuable.
But… inside… was still just one copper coin!
Liu Shiqiao fell silent.
Did the Liu Manor have a tradition of giving copper coins for birthdays?
Or… did they all look down on her and intentionally give her only one coin?
Deeply depressed, she opened the third one. It was a very large box, given by her own second biological brother…
After opening it, uh… there was still only one copper coin inside!
Liu Shiqiao’s face turned quite dark.
This…
Even her biological second brother hadn’t truly accepted her…
Did he still want Liu Shiqi to be his sister?
Gritting her teeth, she opened the next one, which was from her biological eldest brother.
However… it was still just one copper coin.
This time, she went completely silent.
In succession, she opened a dozen more boxes—from her parents, her aunts and uncles, and even her grandmother.
The result was that every single one contained… one copper coin.
Altogether, they barely added up to a dozen or so coins…
Liu Shiqiao’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
This was even more pathetic than when she celebrated her birthday in the village…
At least her foster parents knew to buy her some hair flowers or bracelets…
As expected, the people here in the Liu Manor only spoke pretty words; they didn’t really want her back.
Her heart sank further and further. She desperately wanted to run out and demand why they were treating her like this.
But then she thought, what if she provoked them and they sent her back to the countryside?
She didn’t dare gamble.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the door.
Liu Shiqiao asked impatiently, “Who is it?”
A male voice said, “Little Cousin, it’s me, your eldest cousin!”
Liu Shiqiao pursed her lips. “I’ve gone to bed. Is there something, Eldest Cousin?”
“I just came to ask, do you like the birthday gift I gave you?”
Liu Shiqiao gave a skin-deep smile as she looked at those dozen or so copper coins: Is he trying to humiliate me?
“Heh heh, I like it very much!”
“I like it to death!”
…
Back at the entrance of Haojiagou Village.
Gradually, villagers heard the commotion and gathered around.
Liu Shiqi, who was about to reach into her crotch, pulled her hand back.
【I’ll take out the rest when I get home…】
【Though, it’s a bit uncomfortable!】
The three people behind Liu Shiqi watched as she scavenged so many things from various parts of her body.
They were so shocked they couldn’t speak for a long time.
Someone also finally realized that what he was hearing was Liu Shiqi’s inner thoughts.
His heart was beyond shocked.
A villager walked up and sized up Liu Shiqi, whispering curiously.
“Hey, where did this young lady come from?”
“She’s so pretty, isn’t she?”
One who knew the situation whispered back.
“Sigh, that’s the girl the Liu family switched! So pitiful, she was the Eldest Miss for over ten years, and now she’s been sent back to our village!”
“Truly. That girl Liu Qiao has finally seen the clouds part to reveal the sun. She’s the real Eldest Miss of Liu Manor now, destined for a life of luxury…”
“I always thought that girl Liu Qiao didn’t look like her family. She has a square face—you can tell at a glance she’s destined for great fortune!”
“Look at this one, such a small face and big eyes. She looks clever in a devious way…”
Liu Shiqi: I really thank you for that.
“As they say, dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes…”
“Exactly, how could a village girl ever truly be a young lady…”
“I heard they were switched at birth, but I don’t believe it…”
“Could it be… that someone did it on purpose…”
Some villagers looked at Liu Shiqi and the three people behind her with ill intent.
Liu Shiqi narrowed her eyes and coldly swept her gaze over the speakers. Under her stare, they felt a chill down their spines and eventually shut their mouths.
They thought to themselves: How could a little girl barely ten years old have such a terrifying gaze!
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Liu Shiqi crossed her arms and looked around at the people, finally fixing her gaze on the three behind her.
It was an old man and a middle-aged couple.
The main thing was that Liu Shiqi looked too much like this man; one could tell they were father and daughter at a glance.
Both had peach blossom eyes, and both had a tiny cinnabar mole on the side of their noses.
And, well, both were very good at feigning innocence…
【Back when the switch happened!】
【He saw it!】
【But he didn’t stop it! Sigh…】
【Seeing me come back now, his feelings must be very complicated!】