Meng Zhengde glanced at his daughter’s forced smile and hurriedly coughed before saying, “Yanxiu, your mother has just returned, and her health hasn’t fully recovered yet. I plan to have her stay at the Meng Residence for a few days first, and we can discuss things further once she’s better.”
Shen Yanxiu grew anxious upon hearing this. “Has Mother been injured somewhere?”
Meng Nanzhi pointed to her head. “My brain.”
Her mind truly must have been addled—to have gone through the immense hardship of being reborn only to return and endure the anger caused by her hypocritical friend and the deliberate, malicious upbringing of her child.
Shen Yanxiu immediately stood up. “Is it serious? Mother, please go back with Grandfather first. I’ll go fetch an imperial physician to examine you right away.”
The youth’s impulsiveness carried an undisguised concern.
Amid her frustration, Meng Nanzhi felt a touch of relief and did not stop him.
After he left, Meng Nanzhi let out a heavy sigh. Looking at her father, who had been silently watching her, she smiled and said, “Father.”
Meng Zhengde gently patted the back of her hand, his heart aching as he turned his head away. “Don’t be afraid. Your father is here. Come home with me.”
After all, she was only in her twenties—how could she possibly outmaneuver such underhanded schemes?
As a former study companion to the emperor and once a Grand Tutor to the princes, how could he fail to see the calculations at play here?
He did not oppose Marquis Zhenbei taking wives or concubines; after all, for the sake of his children, he had taken concubines himself.
What disgusted him was Lin Wanrou’s claim to be his daughter’s close friend. If she wanted to die, why not quietly hang herself with a white silk rope at home? Why must she make a spectacle of threatening suicide in front of others every time?
It was just that he had thought his daughter was dead before, so he neither wanted nor cared to intervene. But now that his daughter had returned, he would do everything to become her steadfast support.
A mere Marquis’s Mansion—Meng Zhengde could afford to offend it.
…
Imperial Hospital.
Shen Yanxiu rushed in, grabbed Imperial Physician Hong, who was reading a medical text, and pulled him outside. “Imperial Physician Hong, come with me quickly.”
Imperial Physician Hong straightened his disheveled collar and said, “Shen Shizi, is someone in the Marquis’s Mansion critically ill? Tell me first so I can bring some medicinal herbs.”
Shen Yanxiu was momentarily speechless. Where exactly was his mother unwell?
He had left in such a hurry that he hadn’t asked for details. He could only reply briefly, “My mother, her brain—no, a headache.”
Assuming it was the Marquis’s ping wife, Imperial Physician Hong didn’t ask further. He grabbed a few packets of headache medicine, shouldered his medical kit, and followed him out.
But as they were ushered onto a horse at the entrance and had ridden a short distance, he said, “Shen Shizi, the direction—the direction. Are you going the wrong way? This isn’t the road to the Marquis’s Mansion.”
Shen Yanxiu raised his voice. “No mistake. We’re going to the Meng Residence.”
…
The carriage arrived at the Meng Residence, pushing open the vermilion-lacquered gate that had not been replaced in ten years but had been repainted several times.
The cherry tree in the corner of the courtyard still leaned against the wall, the grapevines still entwined the old bamboo trellis, the moss on the steps was a deep, dark green, and even the swallows’ nest under the eaves remained in its old spot.
Only the Meng matron, who was sweeping the courtyard, had hair at her temples as white as fallen snow. When she saw her, the broom in her hand clattered to the ground, and she stood with her mouth agape, unable to speak for a long while.
Laifu, who stood waiting under the corridor, had a hunched back. His once-bright eyes were now clouded with a film, and it took him a long moment to recognize her before he uttered a voice trembling uncontrollably, “Y-young Miss… the Young Miss has returned.”
A flurry of panicked sounds came from inside the hall, followed by a woman whose temples were frosted with more white than accumulated snow rushing out the door. The skirt of her dark blue dress was creased and wrinkled, and she stumbled a few steps before reaching her, only to come to an abrupt halt. Her lips trembled, "Is it really you, Zhizhi?"
Meng Nanzhi felt a lump in her throat, her eyes stinging as she replied, "Concubine, it's me."
Before her mother passed away from illness, she knew how deeply her father cherished her. After she was gone, her father would have no heart to remarry.
Fearing that her husband might do something foolish and follow her in death, and worried that her young daughter would have no one to care for her, she took matters into her own hands and arranged for her father to take a gentle and virtuous concubine from a modest family—Concubine Hu, a daughter of a lesser household.
Her father was unwilling and repeatedly drove Concubine Hu out of the house.
It wasn’t until her mother forced her father, threatening that if he didn’t bring Concubine Hu back, she would refuse to be his wife in the next life, that he reluctantly agreed.
Before accepting her, Father Meng repeatedly warned Concubine Hu that he would only ever have one daughter—Zhizhi.
Concubine Hu, eager to escape her birth family, didn’t mind at all and naturally agreed to enter the Meng Residence as a concubine.
After entering the Meng Residence, Concubine Hu strictly adhered to her agreement with Father Meng, treating Meng Nanzhi as her own daughter but never overstepping her bounds.
Through the Giant Screen, Meng Nanzhi learned that until her father’s death, Concubine Hu never bore a single child.
Concubine Hu gently stroked her dark hair and cheeks before pulling Meng Nanzhi into a tight embrace, tears streaming down her face. "Zhizhi, it really is you. The master actually managed to bring you back."
Meng Nanzhi smiled and wiped away her tears. "Yes, Concubine, Father brought me back. Please don’t be sad anymore."
But Concubine Hu took a handkerchief from her pocket and instead wiped Meng Nanzhi’s hands. "I’m not sad, I’m just overjoyed."
Yet the tears on her face only seemed to multiply as she wiped them away.
Meng Nanzhi had no choice but to guide her inside and help her sit down. "Concubine, I’m hungry."
Only then did Concubine Hu stop crying, immediately ordering the servants, "Quick, go tell the kitchen to prepare some of the young lady’s favorite dishes."
But as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt it wasn’t right and insisted with conviction, "No, I must make them myself."
Meng Nanzhi tried to stop her. "Concubine, there’s no need for that."
But Concubine Hu insisted, "How can there be no need? Zhizhi, it’s been ten years since you last tasted a dish I made with my own hands."
Meng Nanzhi thought to herself: She hadn’t actually been gone that long.
Meng Zhengde stopped his daughter, who was about to protest further, and said, "Let her go. It’s her way of showing her heart."
With her father’s words, Meng Nanzhi had no choice but to let Concubine Hu go.
After Concubine Hu left, Liu Momo approached with trembling steps, about to kneel before her. "Madam."
Meng Nanzhi quickly supported her. "Momo."
The fine wrinkles at the corners of Liu Momo’s eyes resembled creased rice paper, and her slightly clouded eyes fixed intently on Meng Nanzhi. "It’s wonderful. This old servant can still see Madam, and Madam looks exactly the same as before."
Liu Momo was originally the most capable personal maid by her mother’s side, and all her skills in managing the household were taught to her by her mother.
After her mother passed away, Liu Momo, carrying her mother’s final wishes, stayed by her side, handling all the trivial matters inside and outside the house with meticulous care.
When she married into the Marquis's Mansion, Liu Momo naturally accompanied her as part of her dowry, becoming her most trusted and reliable support in the Marquis's Mansion.
Once she had established her footing in the Marquis's Mansion and taken charge of the houfu zhongkui, Liu Momo became the respected "second steward" of the inner household. For all matters great and small within the estate, if she personally oversaw them, Liu Momo would assist by her side. If she was unwell or away attending banquets, all decisions regarding purchases, cleaning, and servant assignments in the Marquis's Mansion rested solely with Liu Momo.
Thinking of this, Meng Nanzhi asked doubtfully, "Momo, why are you not in the Marquis's Mansion?"
According to the Da Yan Legal Code, even if she were to die, the Marquis's Mansion should still provide for Liu Momo in her old age.
This time, Liu Momo ignored Meng Nanzhi's attempts to stop her and stubbornly knelt on the ground. "Madam, this old servant is guilty. I failed to take good care of the young master and young lady on your behalf and was driven out of the Marquis's Mansion by Houye."