Before dark, Xue Ning arrived at Xue Family Village on the outskirts of the capital.
At the village entrance, she encountered a village woman and stopped her to ask about Xue Da-shu’s house.
Xue Da-shu was the name of her biological father.
The woman sized Xue Ning up from head to toe. “What business do you have with Xue Da-shu? Who are you to him?”
Xue Ning: “I am Xue Da-shu’s biological daughter.”
Upon hearing this, the woman let out a long “oh.”
“So you’re that fake young miss who was swapped into the Marquis’s Manor as a child?”
Xue Ning: “…Yes.”
The woman sighed with emotion. “As expected of a child raised in a wealthy household. You’ve been raised so well; one can’t tell at all that peasant blood flows in your veins.”
“Didn’t they say the Marquis and his wife couldn’t bear to let you come to the countryside to suffer and decided to keep you at the manor?”
“You, all alone… were you kicked out by the Marquis’s Manor?”
“Makes sense. Not their own flesh and blood after all, not their own…”
“Think about Xue Xiao-mei when she was in the village. Xue Da-shu and his wife were so good to her, but as soon as she found out they weren’t her real parents, she turned her back and left, just like an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.”
“But it’s understandable. If it were me, I’d also want to hurry back to my real parents to be a young miss…”
Xue Xiao-mei was the original name of the true legitimate daughter.
After the true legitimate daughter returned to the Marquis’s Manor, the Marquis and his wife found the name unpleasant and renamed their daughter Xue Ruo-er.
Xue Ning looked at the woman, somewhat speechless. “I wasn’t kicked out. I asked to come back myself.”
“Even though my biological parents’ conditions aren’t as good as my adoptive parents’, as the old saying goes: a child does not find their mother ugly, and a dog does not find its home poor.”
“As long as my biological parents are alive, I should return to their side.”
Hearing this, the woman looked at Xue Ning with a moved expression:
“Truly a child raised by the nobility; your words sound much better than those of village children.”
Thinking of the misfortune that had befallen Xue Da-shu and his wife, the woman looked at Xue Ning with pity:
“You’d better be mentally prepared~”
Xue Ning: ??
Half a quarter-hour later, Xue Ning understood what the woman meant by being mentally prepared.
Because her biological parents were not only living in a cowshed, but her father was also paralyzed in bed.
Xue Ning was very surprised. “What happened?”
The woman spoke quickly and directly. “Two months ago, your father went up the mountain to chop wood and encountered a thunderstorm. To hide from the rain, he ran under a large tree, but that tree was struck by lightning, snapped, and fell right on him.”
“Your mother saw that it was getting dark and he hadn’t returned, so she sent people up the mountain to find him. Only then did they find him crushed by the tree.”
“The doctor said your father was hit in a vital spot and pinned down for too long. From now on, he can only lie in bed.”
“Your father couldn’t take the blow and wanted to die. Two days ago, your mother was pushed to a breaking point and set the house on fire, saying they should die together.”
“Later, your father didn’t want to die anymore, so your mother dragged him out of the sea of fire. And then, your home was gone.”
Xue Ning: “…”
This was just freaking ridiculous.
Xue Da-shu and Ning-shi: “…”
[Awkward.jpg]
After a brief silence, Xue Ning looked at her biological parents and asked, “When you wrote before saying you didn’t mind me staying at the Marquis’s Manor, was it because… of Dad’s paralysis?”
Ning-shi looked at Xue Ning’s expression. “Not entirely…”
“Part of it was fear of dragging you down, the other was wanting you to have a better future.”
Xue Ning: “…”
Thinking of her past life (and the one before that), her first reaction upon seeing their letter had been that they were vain.
Because she had once thought they would eventually come to take advantage of her, as the maids whispered, using their status as biological parents once she grew up. But until her death, she had never seen them.
Now it seemed they appeared indifferent toward her, yet they had already given her the greatest care.
However…
When the Marquis’s Manor took Xue Ruo-er back, her father was already paralyzed.
Why didn’t anyone from the Marquis’s Manor tell her about her father’s paralysis?
Why didn’t Xue Ruo-er mention it even a little?
According to the development of her past life (and the one before that), she had died without ever knowing the situation at home.
Could it be that someone had specifically requested them not to?
With this thought, Xue Ning voiced her questions.
Ning-shi nodded. “The Marquis knew our family’s situation, which is why he took the initiative to say you could continue staying at the manor.”
“We thought since you were staying at the manor, you shouldn’t worry about us anymore, lest it made the Marquis and the others unhappy.”
Xue Ning: “…”
She really hadn’t expected the people of the Marquis’s Manor to be so true to their word.
Even Xue Ruo-er hadn’t mentioned a word.
She would consider this a debt of gratitude to the Marquis’s Manor.
Xue Ning told her parents about her departure from the Marquis’s Manor.
Xue Da-shu and Ning-shi expressed that they couldn’t understand: wasn’t it better to live peacefully as a young miss in the Marquis’s Manor?
Xue Ning: “No matter how good the Marquis’s Manor is, it’s not my home. A gold or silver nest is not as good as one’s own doghouse. I don’t want to live under someone else’s roof.”
Ning-shi felt guilty. “But we have no home left to give you.”
If she had known, she wouldn’t have burned the house.
She should have just set her husband on fire!!
Ning-shi glared fiercely at her husband.
Xue Da-shu: “…”
Such a strong killing intent.
[Weak, helpless, and pitiful.jpg]
Xue Ning was very optimistic. “If the house is gone, it can be rebuilt. As long as the people are okay.”
“Even if someone isn’t okay, it doesn’t matter, as long as they are alive.”
“As long as you’re alive, anything is possible.”
The woman clapped her hands. “Well said!”
“Brother Da-shu, look, your biological daughter is already back. Don’t think of ending things anymore.”
Xue Da-shu’s face turned red. “I won’t.”
He wouldn’t think of ending things anymore.
The moment his wife set the house on fire to die with him, he had changed his mind.
Better to live a miserable life than to die.
Now that his biological daughter was back, Xue Da-shu was even less likely to seek death.
Ning-shi was influenced by Xue Ning’s optimism. “I’ll go find the village chief later to talk about rebuilding the house.”
The woman, Li-shi, said enthusiastically, “Don’t wait. I’ll pass by the village chief’s house on my way home and tell him directly about you wanting to build a house.”
“Since Brother Da-shu can’t move easily, I’ll have the village chief come find you.”
Xue Ning expressed her thanks and handed her a handful of candies to take back for the children in her family.
In these times, every household had several children.
Although Xue Family Village was located near the capital, it didn’t mean the people there were necessarily wealthy.
A handful of candies was quite attractive to Li-shi.
She had many children at home and high expenses; candies were only bought in small amounts during festivals.
She certainly wanted them, but looking at the state of Xue Da-shu and Ning-shi, Li-shi was truly embarrassed to take advantage:
“We’re all from the same village, it was just showing the way. No need for rewards. You should keep these candies for your parents to eat.”
Xue Ning liked people who had their own ideas but also had principles:
“I’m not familiar with the village, I might need to trouble you again in the future, Third Aunt. Please take them; I still have more here.”
According to Ning-shi, based on seniority, she should call Li-shi “Third Aunt.”
Hearing that Xue Ning might need her help in the future, Li-shi then took the candies readily and patted her chest, telling Xue Ning to come find her anytime she needed something.
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