After inquiring about her daughter’s daily life, Madam Bai waited for the physician to arrive, who then took Swallow Holding Branch’s pulse and prescribed medicine.
Madam Bai carefully asked about dietary restrictions related to the medicine before having someone escort the physician out.
A maid brought over congee made from red rice and side dishes. Madam Bai took it and brought the congee to her daughter’s lips: “Sister Yuan, have something to eat. Later, I’ll take you to pay respects to your grandfather and grandmother.
During your illness these past few days, your grandfather and grandmother have been constantly asking about you. Now that you’re better, you should let them see you properly.”
In the days since Swallow Holding Branch had returned to this life, perhaps due to the overwhelming shock or the fusion of soul and body, her physical form couldn’t bear it, and she had been feverish for several days.
The fever left her in a daze, and she vaguely sensed people coming to visit her during that time. Now that she had recovered, it was indeed time to pay respects to the elders who had visited her.
Swallow Holding Branch was quite looking forward to it. In her previous life, she had lost her parents at a young age and had no memories of the Jingyuan Marquis Manor.
Whether they were family or enemies, to the current Swallow Holding Branch, they were all strangers.
But perhaps due to blood ties or the bond between mother and daughter, Swallow Holding Branch knew at first glance that this was her mother.
She trusted no one, but she believed that her mother would never harm her.
During Swallow Holding Branch’s illness, Madam Bai had personally taken care of her. In both her past and present lives, this was the first time since she could remember that someone had cherished and protected her so dearly.
This made Swallow Holding Branch increasingly cherish this hard-won familial affection and more determined to protect her own happiness.
As she ate the congee, Swallow Holding Branch glanced at Madam Bai’s slightly swollen belly. At this time, her mother was already pregnant, and in her previous life, Madam Bai had gone to the underworld with this child.
Now that she had recovered, it was time to step onto the battlefield of the Jingyuan Marquis Manor, a place without visible smoke or fire.
Located along the central axis of the Jingyuan Marquis Manor, the Longevity Hall was the residence of successive Jingyuan Marquises. Swallow Holding Branch followed her mother, Madam Bai, surrounded by servants, all the way here.
In the main reception hall of the Longevity Hall, many people were seated. Swallow Holding Branch’s eyes immediately fell on a woman sitting in a high-backed chair to the right of the main seat. She was dressed in mature and luxurious attire but appeared somewhat old-fashioned.
This woman was no stranger to Swallow Holding Branch—her nominal grandmother and the biggest culprit behind the death of the eldest branch, Wang Caibing.
At this time, Wang Caibing was merely the wife of the Marquis. Perhaps because she was not yet in a position to dictate everything in the Jingyuan Marquis Manor or wield absolute authority, she lacked the arrogance and haughtiness Swallow Holding Branch had seen in her previous life. Instead, she appeared gentle and kind.
Swallow Holding Branch paused briefly in her steps. Having lived two lives, she had also learned to act. She followed her mother calmly, kneeling on the cushion to pay respects to the woman seated above: “Greetings, Mother (Grandmother).”
Madam Wang smiled and gestured for them to rise, then took Swallow Holding Branch’s hand with an affectionate demeanor: “Sister Yuan, you’ve fully recovered.”
Swallow Holding Branch remained silent. Madam Wang, of course, didn’t expect a three-year-old child to say much; her words were directed at Madam Bai.
Madam Bai nodded: “The physician said she’s fine now, but she still needs to take one more dose of medicine to consolidate her recovery.”
While Madam Bai was speaking with her mother-in-law, Madam Wang, Swallow Holding Branch turned to observe the others in the room.
Seated in a chair to the lower left was a young man with a refined and elegant appearance. Seeing Swallow Holding Branch looking at him, he took out an exquisite rattle-drum from his sleeve: “Sister Yuan, come here quickly. Look what your father brought for you.”
Swallow Holding Branch’s eyes held a fleeting complexity. This was her biological father, Yan Tingbai, now the heir of the Jingyuan Marquisate.
In her previous life, hearing others’ notorious descriptions of him, she had never imagined her own father would be like this.
When feverish and delirious, she vaguely knew her father had been searching everywhere for doctors to treat her illness.
The first day, seeing her burning with a high fever that wouldn’t subside, Yan Tingbai had even discussed with his wife, Madam Bai, about inviting Taoist priests and Buddhist monks to give her talisman water to ward off evil spirits.
Towards his children, Yan Tingbai was affectionate—it was just that his actions were somewhat unreliable, his mind often filled with whimsical ideas.
Swallow Holding Branch walked over to take the rattle drum, but Yan Tingbai didn’t hand it over. Instead, he rubbed the handle with both hands, personally demonstrating to his daughter how to play with it.
But Swallow Holding Branch’s eyes weren’t on the rattle drum; they were fixed on the young man and woman seated below Madam Wang.
Compared to her unfamiliarity with her parents, Swallow Holding Branch was far more acquainted with the two people opposite her—her dear uncle Yan Jingzheng and dear aunt Wang Chenbi.
At this time, they were still merely the Second Master and Second Mistress of the Jingyuan Marquisate. One had not yet received his grandfather’s patronage to become an official, transforming into the future Second Master of Politics.
The other had not yet been granted an honorary title due to her husband’s status, remaining merely an ordinary Second Mistress Wang who depended on the household for livelihood.
Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and the sons of rats know how to dig holes. Before gaining power, Yan Jingzheng and Wang Chenbi, like Madam Wang, knew how to pretend. Benevolent faces with hearts of demons—that described them perfectly.
Seeing Swallow Holding Branch looking at them, the two simultaneously revealed gentle smiles.
Wang Chenbi instructed her maid briefly, and the maid brought fresh fruit from the table to Swallow Holding Branch, saying it was for her to eat and play with.
On the surface, it appeared the Second Branch aunt was fond of her niece. In reality, if truly well-intentioned, she wouldn’t have given fresh fruit to a child who had just recovered from illness.
Wang Chenbi was still young after all, not yet the scheming strategist she would later become. Her action wasn’t openly malicious—she simply didn’t want Swallow Holding Branch to approach her.
As for the reason, Swallow Holding Branch glanced at Wang Chenbi’s abdomen. Calculating the time based on memories from her previous life, she was already pregnant at this point.
A first-time mother, Wang Chenbi naturally didn’t want to risk infection, so she casually offered something to divert Swallow Holding Branch’s attention.
Swallow Holding Branch didn’t mind Wang Chenbi’s wariness toward her, nor did she plan to engage in petty mischief against Wang Chenbi.
Regarding the Second Branch, she would either take no action, or once she moved, make them pay a painful price.
Swallow Holding Branch didn’t look at the fresh fruit the maid had brought. Instead, she turned back to watch her father play with the rattle drum.
A matron emerged from the inner chamber. After bowing to everyone, she invited them inside to pay respects to the Marquis.
Everyone stood up and, according to seniority and age, slowly entered the inner chamber.
Swallow Holding Branch was carried into the inner chamber by her father. She looked toward the carved rosewood canopy bed where an elderly man leaned against large pillows, his face gaunt and complexion sallow—the appearance of someone long afflicted by illness.
This was Swallow Holding Branch’s grandfather, the pillar of the Jingyuan Marquisate. In her previous life, had he not passed away so early, the main branch might not have met such a tragic end.
Discovering she had been reborn back to a time before any tragedies had occurred, Swallow Holding Branch urgently wanted to tell her parents how Wang Caibing and the Second Branch harbored wolfish ambitions, how ruthless and cruel they were, and how they caused every member of the main branch to die unnatural deaths.
But perhaps it was a secret that heaven forbade to be revealed. Whenever Swallow Holding Branch tried to tell her parents the truth, every time she seized an opportunity to speak about her past life, her throat would feel as if stuffed with cotton, rendering her unable to utter a word. Yet as long as she avoided mentioning her rebirth and past life, her speech would return to normal.
Swallow Holding Branch also attempted to reveal the secret by pointing to written words, but that too failed. The secret of her rebirth was something she had to bear alone.
However, she was now merely a three-year-old child. The idea of directly confronting the second branch of the family and Wang Caibing was nothing short of wishful thinking.
Fortunately, things had not yet reached the worst possible point, and the room for maneuver lay with her grandfather.