The young woman watched silently, neither speaking nor urging them on. Seeing that all the children were now present, she signaled to the servant woman behind her to take the two small bundles, then turned to lead the way.
The adults left behind craned their necks, peering through the courtyard gate, wishing they could see right through the walls and into the inner courtyard.
As they walked, Shen Yiyi ignored Sister Gui’s provocative glances, instead taking in her surroundings along the way.
The situation couldn’t be clearer—this was a private interview arranged by Shen Mansion for them.
But the interview method was just too tricky. A bath? Probably meant to catch them off guard while they were exposed, making them more likely to confess everything.
Whoever came up with this idea was truly cunning!
Whoever arranged for them to take a bath was a real saint!
Soaking in the warm water, Shen Yiyi nearly teared up.
So comfortable! How long had it been since the original body had a proper bath? Definitely longer than the four days since she had arrived—her whole body had been itching.
Earlier, when they arrived at the side room in the inner courtyard, a plump middle-aged woman glanced in surprise at the large yellow flower on Shen Yiyi’s head before composing herself and asking who would bathe first.
Beside the wooden tub filled with steam, Sister Gui, seeing the woman’s stern expression, shrank back and didn’t speak up immediately.
Shen Yiyi happily volunteered to go first.
It wasn’t that she wanted to show off—she just didn’t want to use someone else’s bathwater.
And what if there was only one tub of water, with hot water added but not replaced? That would be awful. So she decisively chose to bathe first.
Sister Gui and the others only shot her a resentful glance before being led to the southern side room to have their hair combed.
Once the door to the northern side room closed, Shen Yiyi eagerly began undressing. Her enthusiastic and unhesitant demeanor surprised the woman somewhat.
Shen Yiyi thought to herself, whether it was the changing rooms at the swimming pool or the school’s communal showers, she had bathed with hundreds of people before. They were all women, so what was there to fear? Besides, she was practically starting to smell—nothing was going to stop her from taking this bath!
When the woman offered to help her tie up her hair, Shen Yiyi firmly refused.
Why were washing hair and bathing treated separately?
Just combing it with fragrant powder?
No, no, no! Her hair was so dirty it was tangled—it needed a proper wash with water!
Shen Yiyi shamelessly declined, saying she wanted to wash her hair right then and there.
The woman, addressed as Nanny Tong, was quite accommodating. Hearing this, she took some soapberries to help scrub Shen Yiyi’s hair, even complimenting her on how well-maintained it was.
Nanny Tong was dressed very plainly, with no adornments whatsoever. But her hands were soft and not rough, and there were clear ring indentations at the base of her fingers, convincing Shen Yiyi that she was no ordinary servant.
In any case, Shen Yiyi had no intention of pretending to be someone else’s daughter. Aside from freeloading meals these past few days, she had no desires or demands from Shen Mansion.
Therefore, when this interviewer subtly questioned her, Shen Yiyi answered honestly within the bounds of not revealing her true identity—after all, she genuinely didn’t know much.
Reluctantly climbing out of the now-cooling water, Shen Yiyi had no choice but to put her dirty clothes back on.
Nanny Tong was taken aback for a moment. Seeing her dejected expression, she kindly explained that the mansion truly had no clothes for such a young girl, her voice softening slightly.
Then she called for someone to change the water and led Shen Yiyi to the southern side room.
Sister Gui and Sister Nian had already finished having their hair combed, neatly styled once more, and were now enjoying some snacks accompanied by a maid named Hong’er.
When Shen Yiyi entered, Sister Gui, who had been sitting rather stiffly, stared at her clothes and couldn’t help but let out a mocking smile before standing up, straightening her posture, and following Nanny Tong out.
Hong’er had long known about this matter, and her eyes held pity as she took the initiative to pull Shen Yiyi to sit down and helped her dry her damp hair.
Well, another dose of sympathy received.
Shen Yiyi smiled sweetly and thanked her.
In truth, she wasn’t as embarrassed as these people imagined—she simply disliked how dirty her clothes were.
After all, she had thought it through clearly: if you were sixteen years old and wore dirty clothes every day, it might be your own fault—laziness or poverty, one or the other. But if you were six years old and only had dirty clothes to wear every day, whose responsibility that was went without saying, right?
Shen Yiyi neither had a fragile heart nor any desire to cover up for that despicable couple, Hu Sicai and his wife.
On the contrary, if it would help, she’d gladly endure wearing such clothes for another half-month—well, maybe ten days—if it meant public pressure could force those two to improve her treatment a little. So she didn’t feel ashamed at all.
Nanny Tong, unaware of all this, saw her calm (thick-skinned) demeanor and secretly praised the girl for having a truly good temperament. For such a young child to remain so composed despite being wronged was commendable.
This young girl called Hong’er was far less experienced than Nanny Tong had been earlier. After the other two left, Shen Yiyi chatted with her quite easily and pleasantly.
Sister Nian, sitting nearby, didn’t interrupt, though her mouth never stopped moving. She had a piece of malt candy in her mouth and clutched a handful more in her hand.
She likely couldn’t eat any more pastries, so she piled them in front of herself protectively. Whenever Shen Yiyi occasionally reached for a snack, Sister Nian would look up warily to check.
Whether Sister Gui had only soaked briefly or saved a lot of time by not washing her hair, less than half an hour later, they heard Nanny Tong outside instructing someone to send her back.
When Sister Nian went to bathe, she still refused to let go of her candy. Seeing that persuasion was useless, Nanny Tong found a handkerchief and let her wrap up a small bundle.
This one washed even faster and was soon sent back, clutching her candy.
Hearing the commotion, Shen Yiyi quickly jumped off her chair, ready to take her leave as well.
Hong’er touched her half-dry hair and said, “Don’t rush, stay a little longer.”
Nanny Tong, who had just entered the room, saw how quickly Hong’er had started showing favoritism and couldn’t help but shoot her a reproachful glance.
Hong’er pursed her lips and blinked at her pleadingly.
Nanny Tong, who had already formed a good impression of Shen Yiyi, added, “Young lady, your hair isn’t dry yet—be careful not to catch a chill. Staying a while longer won’t hurt.”
Shen Yiyi took the opportunity and sat back down.
She certainly wasn’t like Sister Nian, reluctant to part with candy. Instead, she had finally learned the time and place she was in—the Dayong Dynasty, Yuanhe 22nd Year, July 21st, here in Anyang County, Qingzhou Prefecture.
Her yet-to-be-confirmed grandfather had been the county magistrate here and had died in office over two years ago.
Her yet-to-be-confirmed father was a Xiucai (Government Student) who had escorted the coffin back to their ancestral home in Qinghe County, Meizhou Prefecture, for burial. After observing the twenty-seven months of mourning in his hometown, he had returned here just a few days ago.
Four days into her transmigration, and it had been so difficult!
Her progress in gathering information was probably ranked near the bottom on Green River, right?
Sorry, I’ve dragged down my transmigrated sisters!
Thus, even though she knew that with Nanny Tong joining them, the difficulty of conversation would suddenly increase, she couldn’t bear to leave. Greedily and cautiously, she wanted to learn just a little more.
By the time her hair was completely dry, the sun had already begun to set in the west.
Hong’er carefully combed Shen Yiyi’s hair, hesitantly picking up the half-wilted Luffa flower: “This—”
Shen Yiyi quickly shook her head: “No, no, no! Please find a place to throw it away, I won’t wear it!”
What a joke! The flower was almost half the size of her face. Wearing it on her head would look utterly foolish—she had no desire to wear it at all.
The only reason she hadn’t removed it earlier was to avoid embarrassing Hu Sicai and the others in front of others.
After all, in a few days, she would have to return to the village and continue living under their care. It wouldn’t do to earn Niu Shi’s resentment. As for whether this would affect her impression in the Shen Mansion, Shen Yiyi couldn’t care less.
Of course, now that she had the chance to return to a normal appearance, she was quite pleased.
“The master has returned!”
With the announcement from the servant outside, Nanny Tong and Hong’er were both surprised: “Why is he back so early today?”
Shen Yiyi curiously looked outside and saw a figure walking past the corridor in front of the house.
Through the window paper, she couldn’t make out his exact appearance, but she could vaguely tell that Master Shen had an upright posture and wasn’t overweight.
With the master of the house back, Shen Yiyi had no intention of overstaying her welcome. She once again took her leave, and this time, as expected, she departed smoothly without anyone urging her to stay.
Seeing how decisively she left and that she had only glanced briefly without causing any trouble, Nanny Tong felt somewhat more satisfied.
Rear Annex, Central Room.
“All she asked for was a packet of pastries! And she asked for it herself! Just look at how useless she is! All she knows is eating—did I ever starve her?”
She hadn’t starved her, but she certainly hadn’t given her anything good to eat either. Sister-in-law Zhang thought to herself, but she still had to soothe her furious sister-in-law: “Sister Nian is only five years old. What child isn’t greedy for treats? No one would hold such things against a child.”
Zhang Dalang looked at the pastries scattered on the table, his heart aching as he clicked his tongue. But lessons from childhood told him never to get involved when the women in his family were angry.
He quietly picked up a few pieces of malt sugar that had fallen on the floor and slipped into the inner room. There, he saw his little niece hiding behind the partition, crying in hiccups but not daring to make a sound.
Zhang Dalang clumsily patted her head and handed her a piece of sugar.
The two of them, one big and one small, squatted on the floor, silently eating.
Rear Annex, East Room.
The air in the room was almost stagnant.
Sister Gui sat alone by the bed, stiffening her neck and refusing to look at her grandmother and aunt across from her.
Old Master Ding sat alone in the outer room, hands on his knees, silent.
Ding Ju suddenly stood up, hurried to the window, and listened carefully. Then, turning her head, she whispered: “She’s back, she’s finally back!”
Old Madam Ding calculated the time and sighed: “Over two hours.”
Hearing this, Sister Gui’s eyes reddened, and she clenched her fists.
Ding Ju looked at Old Master Ding: “Father, such a long time—could it be—could it be that Madam Wu only saw her? That little girl from the Zhang family even got a reward of pastries, but our family—”
Sister Gui could no longer hold back and spoke with a sob in her voice: “Even if I’m useless and unwelcome, why are you so anxious! What does it have to do with you!”
“You! Mother, just look at her!”
“Sister Gui, you mustn’t speak to your aunt like that.”
“That’s exactly how it is! My father belongs to my mother—what does it have to do with her!”
Some things could be done but not spoken aloud. After all, Ding Ju was still an unmarried woman. Having her niece lay bare her thoughts made her face burn, and her eyes reddened for a moment.
“Alright, alright! Don’t cry, don’t cry,” Old Madam Ding sat down next to Sister Gui, gently patting her back to soothe her. “My dear girl, you must never say such things again! Your mother was merely a chamber maid, and even your legal mother wouldn’t dare speak of this, understand?”