A faint, almost imperceptible sneer curled at the corner of Su Leyun’s lips. As expected, Grandmother was biased, so afraid that Su Wan’er might feel slighted that she had to explicitly reaffirm her status as the eldest daughter.
Little did she know that this favoritism was being lavished upon nothing but an ungrateful wolf.
If not for her, how could Su Leyun have ended up dying with grievances in her previous life!
Sun Jiarou and Su Ye’s expressions were also rather grim. They did not wish to wrong Su Leyun, but they could not defy the Old Madam and Su Changqing, who stubbornly clung to his misguided filial piety.
Su Leyun had long seen through that mother and son pair and no longer held any expectations of them.
She cooperatively curtsied slightly toward Su Wan’er, her watery eyes gazing coldly at her.
“Sister Wan’er.”
Su Wan’er was dressed in a lotus-pink cloud-patterned brocade gown, with a complete set of phoenix-themed gold hair ornaments adorning her head. Clearly, she had deliberately dressed up, aiming to make Su Leyun feel ashamed of her own appearance.
In her past life, Su Leyun had indeed felt deeply inferior upon seeing Su Wan’er’s noble and elegant demeanor of a young lady from a prestigious family. She had even hidden in her room for a long time, unwilling to see anyone.
But this time, she would not.
Su Leyun deliberately looked at Su Wan’er with an envious expression, saying innocently, “I felt an immediate closeness to Sister Wan’er upon seeing her. At first, I only thought Sister was beautiful, but after looking a few more times, I realized that Sister’s eyebrows, eyes, and nose are exactly like those of Father and Mother from the Li Family.”
Su Wan’er, having been struck where it hurt, immediately changed her expression and retorted sharply.
“Nonsense! Who resembles those lowly commoners!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room changed their expressions.
The Old Madam frowned slightly. Su Changqing set his teacup down on the table with a deliberate thud. Sun Jiarou, however, paid no mind, her heart and eyes filled only with her newly found daughter.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Su Wan’er grew even more ashamed and angry, her face flushing crimson, and a layer of mist clouding her eyes.
Su Leyun’s lips curved slightly upward. Su Wan’er, if you can’t bear it now, what will you do in the future?
She feigned surprise, pursing her lips slightly and hesitating, “Sister Wan’er, the kindness of birth and upbringing is profound. How can you address Father and Mother Li like that?”
Upon hearing this, Su Wan’er’s expression turned even uglier.
The Li woman had deliberately switched the children, allowing Su Wan’er to replace Su Leyun and enjoy over a decade of life as a young lady of the Marquis Manor for nothing.
Su Leyun, magnanimous and understanding, still referred to them as Father and Mother out of gratitude for their upbringing, while she, their biological daughter, instead called her own parents lowly commoners…
The maids below whispered among themselves.
“Although the Second Young Miss came from the countryside, she seems more sentimental than the Eldest Young Miss.”
“Indeed, who would have thought the Eldest Young Miss was such a person.”
Seeing Su Wan’er’s eyes redden, the Old Madam coughed heavily twice, coming to her rescue.
“Enough. Let us not mention the Li couple again, lest it bring unnecessary unpleasantness. The family is rarely reunited; let us have dinner together.”
The Marquis Manor had always been extravagant. A single dinner featured over thirty dishes, filling the table to the brim.
Shark fin, bird’s nest, abalone…
Su Leyun could name only a few of the dishes on the table, let alone the dining etiquette and manners. In her past life, she had made many embarrassing mistakes, often leaving the table in tears before the meal was even finished and returning to her own courtyard.
A maid brought over scented water for washing hands. Su Wan’er had already regained her composure, rising gracefully, her gaze challenging as she looked at Su Leyun.
“Since Sister Yun has just arrived, why not let Sister show her filial piety today by serving Grandmother during the meal?”
She simply refused to believe that Su Leyun, a country bumpkin raised in the countryside, could handle all this!
Su Leyun noticed her smugness and rose with a smile, positioning herself beside the elderly madam. She took the scented water to assist in washing her hands, then accepted a clean silk handkerchief to dry them.
From washing hands to rinsing the mouth and serving dishes, her etiquette was flawless, her demeanor graceful and poised, indistinguishable from the noble ladies of the capital.
The elderly madam nodded in satisfaction, while Sun Jiarou and Su Ye watched her with warm smiles. Even Marquis Su appeared uncharacteristically gentle.
Su Wan’er bit her lower lip lightly, unwilling to concede. “Sister’s manners are so refined, it hardly seems like she grew up in the wilderness.”
At these words, the elderly madam’s expression indeed darkened slightly.
Indeed, such behavior and demeanor did not resemble the upbringing of a country girl. The Su Family had already mistaken their daughter once, becoming the laughingstock of the capital. If someone with ill intentions exploited this and they made another mistake, wouldn’t it invite even greater ridicule?
Su Leyun pursed her lips into a light smile and explained slowly.
“Your granddaughter knows her etiquette and manners fall far short of the capital’s young ladies, so I sought Nanny Zhang’s guidance along the way and learned only a little.”
Nanny Zhang chimed in from the side.
“The young lady worked very hard on the journey, fearing she might disgrace the Marquis Manor’s reputation upon arriving in the capital.”
As the words fell, Sun Jiarou’s eyes reddened once more. Her unfortunate daughter, had she not been swapped by that vile woman since infancy, would never have been left to wander outside, enduring hardships. Now that she had returned, she still worried about her manners and demeanor…
She should have grown up in the Marquis Manor, cherished and esteemed, not needing to tread so carefully.
At this thought, Sun Jiarou’s gaze toward Su Wan’er grew increasingly displeased. This daughter had been raised in the elderly madam’s quarters since childhood and had never been close to her. Previously, she hadn’t given it much thought, but now it seemed it truly was a matter of blood ties.
“Whatever you missed over these dozen or so years, Mother will make up for you slowly.”
Whether it was etiquette and manners, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, or affection and doting…
“Leyun’s eyes, eyebrows, and facial features are almost identical to mine and the Marquis’s. She is undoubtedly our Su Family’s daughter.”
Beneath the table, Sun Jiarou clenched the handkerchief in her hand. She had missed fifteen whole years with her daughter. Now that Su Leyun had returned to her side, she would not let her suffer any more grievances.
“Mother-in-law, husband, now that Yun’er has returned, it is time to add her to the family register and publicly acknowledge her identity.”
Sun Jiarou stood up, drew Su Leyun to sit beside her, and personally served her a bowl of soup, placing it nearby.
By adding her to the family register before the New Year, she could accompany the family elders in social engagements during the festivities. She wanted her daughter to stand proudly among the noble young ladies of the capital’s high society.
Su Changqing set down his chopsticks, pondered briefly, and for the first time looked directly at this newly found daughter, frowning.
“What does Mother think?”
The elderly madam took the handkerchief handed by a maid, dabbed the corners of her mouth, and spoke slowly. “The family register can only be brought out when the clan head and all the elders are present. With the New Year approaching and the weather bitterly cold, it would be inappropriate to gather all the elders over such a minor matter at this time.”
“Does Grandmother mean to wait until after the New Year?”
Su Ye, unable to contain himself, spoke up first to question. The Su Family’s legitimate daughter had been found and needed to be added to the family register—how could that be a minor matter!
He truly didn’t understand what had come over his grandmother. First, she allowed his younger sister to be ranked after the adopted daughter, and now she was making excuses about adding her to the family register. That was his own sister, the Su Family’s only legitimate daughter—why should she endure such injustice!
“Let’s discuss it after the New Year. As for announcing her identity and socializing outside, this child has just arrived and isn’t familiar with the capital’s rules and etiquette. It’s better to take things slowly so as not to frighten her.”
The old madam spoke as if it were only natural, as though everything she said was for Su Leyun’s sake.
Su Wan’er smiled at the corners of her eyes, smugly rubbing the gemstone ring on her finger. With just a few words, she had made Su Leyun’s background unclear, preventing her from publicly establishing her identity in the capital.
She wanted to make it clear to Su Leyun: So what if you’re the legitimate daughter? So what if your status is noble? In the end, you can’t compare to me!