Feng Zhuyue’s words made Ling An’an freeze, and her expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.
This was implying that she wasn’t their biological daughter.
Feng Wangge also looked up, raising an eyebrow as she watched Ling Cang and Feng Zhuyue with some surprise.
“Wangge, your father and I personally supervised the renovation of a courtyard for you. Everything in it is brand new, carefully selected by us. Come, let’s go take a look right now—I think you’ll love it.”
Feng Zhuyue seemed to have a straightforward personality—acting as soon as she spoke. She took Wangge’s hand and led her toward a destination.
“So Mother and Father had already planned everything. I was the one who didn’t think it through.”
Watching Feng Zhuyue pull Feng Wangge away, Ling An’an said somewhat awkwardly, still seeming cautious.
But inside, her heart was churning like a storm.
Could it be that Mother and Father doted on Feng Wangge this much? She was just a lowly peasant girl from a mountain ravine, while she herself had been their beloved daughter for over a decade.
“Your mother and I know your intentions. Don’t worry—we’ve been family for so long, and we’ll continue to be family in the future. You’re a sensible child. Wangge just returned home and is bound to be unfamiliar with things here. Take good care of her.”
Ling Cang seemed to have noticed Ling An’an’s concerns and spoke in a gentle tone.
“Don’t worry, Father. An’an understands.” Ling An’an replied obediently and sensibly.
Then the two of them followed in the footsteps of Feng Zhuyue and Feng Wangge, heading toward the new courtyard.
“Wangge, this is Zizhuxuan. Come on, let’s go inside and take a look.” Feng Zhuyue held Feng Wangge’s hand and introduced it excitedly.
Feng Wangge had never been held by the hand like this, never been cared for so tenderly.
Back when she was in the Chu family, Mrs. Chu seemed to have been born at odds with her. From a young age, she had never shown her a kind face—any displeasure would result in beatings and scoldings, and she never once asked about her food or clothing.
Let alone such intimate affection—she was very unaccustomed to it.
Zizhuxuan was enormous, more than ten times the size of Feng Wangge’s courtyard in the Chu family.
Entering the courtyard, one first encountered a grove of purple bamboo, serene and elegant. Walking along the cobblestone path, one emerged from the bamboo grove to find a pond filled with lotus flowers. Though they had not yet bloomed, one could easily imagine the magnificent sight when they did.
Rare plants and exotic flowers were countless throughout the courtyard. There were pavilions and waterside terraces, as well as a swing and stone tables.
Such an arrangement was clearly made with the utmost care, and remarkably, it suited Feng Wangge’s tastes perfectly.
Ling An’an, following behind, felt bitter and envious at the sight.
She had thought her own Ziweiyuan was already an excellent courtyard, but compared to Feng Wangge’s, it fell short by more than a little.
When they entered the room, Ling An’an’s jealousy grew even stronger.
Precious decorations everywhere, antique displays, even the window gauze was made of Xiangyunsha. The exquisite hair ornaments on the dressing table and the clothes in the wardrobe were all of the finest craftsmanship.
Could a hunter’s daughter from a farming family even appreciate all this?
“Wangge, I arranged everything according to my own ideas. Does it suit your taste? If there’s anything you don’t like, we’ll have someone change it right away. Whatever you want, your father and I will find it for you.”
Feng Zhuyue asked somewhat cautiously, as if afraid Feng Wangge might be dissatisfied.
Having a mother who cared for her so completely was something Feng Wangge had never dared to imagine before.
“I like it very much. Thank you, Mother.”
Since she had already acknowledged the kinship, Feng Wangge wouldn’t be overly reserved.
“Oh, oh—good, wonderful.”
Hearing this, Feng Zhuyue was so moved she could barely speak.
“And thank you, Father.”
Seeing that Ling Cang beside her was also deeply moved, Feng Wangge looked at him and called out as well.
Though her tone was calm and only a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips, it was enough to stir both Ling Cang and Feng Zhuyue.
“You child, why be so polite? You’ve suffered so much all these years—it’s all our fault. If we had noticed something was wrong earlier and gone looking for you, we wouldn’t have only just now been reunited.”
Such words had once been spoken to Chu Mingzhu by her parents in the Chu family, and now they were being said to her as well. Being cared for felt quite nice.
Watching the three of them together, happy as a family, Ling An’an felt uncomfortable again—it was as if she were the outsider.
“Father, Mother, Sister Wangge, please sit down. I’ve had tea and refreshments brought in, and I’ve also arranged for the meal to be prepared.”
Ling An’an was asserting her position at every turn—she was the most honored young lady of the Shezhengwangfu, even if Feng Wangge was the biological daughter.
“That’s right, that’s right. An’an is always so thoughtful. Wangge, come, sit down and rest.”
Feng Zhuyue was very pleased with Ling An’an’s arrangements and pulled Feng Wangge to sit down, unable to stop looking at her.
“Sister, these are peach blossom cakes and apricot blossom pastries from Jingcheng. Do try some. Poor sister—having lived in the wilderness for so many years, you surely have never tasted things like these before.”
After pouring tea for Ling Cang and his wife, Ling An’an smiled and greeted Feng Wangge, wearing an expression of pity.
This thick sense of superiority, coupled with the feigned concern that was actually veiled mockery, was exactly like Chu Mingzhu—but far more refined, and far more restrained.
Feng Wangge lifted her head, her expression calm.
“When I arrived, I heard Uncle Li mention that I have three older brothers, yet he never once spoke of this one…”
At Feng Wangge’s words, Ling An’an’s expression shifted, but she forced herself to maintain a smile.
Meanwhile, Ling Cang and Feng Zhuyue finally remembered that they had yet to explain the full story of their family.
“Wangge, you do have three older brothers, but each of them has his own affairs and none are in Jingcheng at the moment. However, I’ve already notified them—they are wrapping up their current matters and will return to Jingcheng to meet you. As for An’an, she is not our biological daughter…”
So that was it. Hearing Ling Cang’s explanation, Feng Wangge understood—the tale of the swapped daughters was playing out here as well.
“Back then, chaos had erupted in Jingcheng, and we had other matters that forced us to travel to Jiangzhou. On the very day you were born, we were ambushed by assassins and lost you in the chaos. We searched far and wide afterward, and eventually found An’an in a farmhouse in the Qishan mountains. Because she was wrapped in your swaddling clothes and carried your jade pendant, we mistook her for you. As for you, you had been abandoned at a temple by the assassins, and were then accidentally switched with the Chu family’s daughter.”
So there was such a tangled history behind it all—no wonder the Chu family had believed her biological parents were hunters from Qishan.
“Later, when the Chu family’s daughter came searching for her birth parents, your father and I sensed something was amiss about the events of that year and sent people to investigate. That was when we discovered that you, raised in the Chu household, were our true biological daughter, while An’an is the daughter of some family in Qishan.”
At Feng Wangge’s final words, Ling An’an’s eyes flew wide in shock.
So Feng Wangge had not been a peasant girl raised in a mountain gully all her life—it was her own birth parents who were the simple villagers!