Time slipped by quickly while Zhang Mama was still lost in her anxious thoughts. By the time she snapped out of it, they had already arrived at the Yongping Marquis Manor.
Because he had just encountered Xiao Yunting at the Daxing county yamen, Qi Zhen now seemed preoccupied with something and didn’t bother much with Xu Yinyin. He simply gave a passing instruction: “Go greet your mother first.”
With that, he turned to leave. Xu Yinyin didn’t mind; she bowed to him in proper form.
That bow made Qi Zhen stop in his tracks.
Not because there was anything wrong with it—quite the opposite. It was too proper.
The bow had been fluid and flawless—impeccable in every way.
He paused. “You’ve studied etiquette?”
Xu Yinyin shook her head slowly. When she saw him frown, she pressed her lips together, feigning timidity. “An old lady taught me,” she said softly.
An old lady?
Qi Zhen found that odd. The village she had been living in hadn’t even produced a single scholar in years—who could possibly have the refinement to teach such rules?
A thought struck him. He asked gravely, “What old lady?”
Here it comes.
Xu Yinyin recited the answer she had rehearsed countless times: “I often had to walk dozens of li to chop firewood. There’s a temple on the mountain. A granny there said she liked me and taught me to read and write…”
The mountain?
There was a temple near the mountain where she had lived.
Qi Zhen’s heart gave a violent thump. “That old woman… was her surname Jiang?”
Xu Yinyin looked surprised. “How did you know?”
Qi Zhen gasped.
He stared hard at her, this daughter he’d barely glanced at until now. Only when he took a proper look did he realize—despite her years of hard labor in the countryside—her skin was fair, her features delicate. A tall nose, bright peach blossom eyes that shimmered with a soft glow.
Based on appearance alone, she wasn’t a bit inferior to Qi Jin.
Qi Zhen was silent for a while, then suddenly said, “Come, I’ll go with you to the rear courtyard.”
Xu Yinyin gave a silent, cold smile.
A moment ago he had been in a hurry to leave. Now he wanted to accompany her personally?
It wasn’t because his conscience had awakened or fatherly love had bloomed.
It was because she had deliberately brought up Jiang Momo.
Of course she knew exactly why Qi Zhen had changed his attitude.
Because Jiang Momo had once served the Eldest Princess. It was the Princess herself who lived in seclusion at that temple.
A daughter who had been taught by someone from the Eldest Princess’s household—such a girl was now useful.
She turned her head and smiled meaningfully at Zhang Mama.
Zhang Mama, under her gaze, felt her heart skip.
This young lady had hinted earlier that she could be someone to follow—and she’d been hesitant. But now? This girl was deep.
She’d had that kind of backing and yet managed to keep it hidden all this time—even from someone like Hua Momo.
It was like she’d calculated every step.
First, she used the situation to eliminate Hua Momo. Then, she stirred up enough trouble for the matter to reach Daxing yamen…
Now, it looked like that had been no accident at all. She had probably predicted that it would get back to Qi Zhen.
Qi Zhen led Xu Yinyin to the rear courtyard.
Upon hearing that the matter had escalated to the officials, Madam Wang had been on edge. Along with her worry, she began to feel increasing dissatisfaction with Xu Yinyin.
Growing up in the countryside had made her ignorant of court politics and family interests.
And now, with the Marquis himself having to fetch her back, he would surely be furious.
She frowned irritably.
Beside her, Qi Yunting muttered, “Mother, if you had just sent her to the estate from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”
Madam Wang said nothing, but she was already thinking the same.
This troublesome girl, who had embarrassed the family and angered the Marquis—sending her away to an estate might really be the best solution…
She was weighing how best to get rid of this hot potato when the curtain suddenly lifted.
Qi Zhen walked in first.
Madam Wang and Qi Yunting both stood up in a hurry.
Madam Wang assumed he was so angry he hadn’t even brought Xu Yinyin back. She blurted out, “My lord Marquis, this is all my fault. If I had known, I never would’ve agreed to bringing her back—”
The entire family had initially opposed bringing Xu Yinyin home. It had been Madam Wang’s idea, out of some faint maternal instinct, to give her daughter a chance.
But now with all the trouble she’d caused, Madam Wang was thoroughly sick of her.
Before she could finish, Xu Yinyin stepped inside behind Qi Zhen. Hearing Madam Wang’s words, she lowered her head as if deeply wounded.
Qi Zhen coughed. “What are you saying? She’s our daughter by blood. She’s also the Marquis Manor’s eldest young miss. Of course she has every right to come home!”
Madam Wang was shocked to her core.
She knew her husband well—he was a man who valued power above all. If something endangered the family’s interests, he would discard even a son without hesitation.
Now, after all the disgrace Xu Yinyin had brought them—why had he personally fetched her and acknowledged her as the rightful heiress?
Qi Yunting had already turned to look at Xu Yinyin.
With a disgusted curl of his lips, he walked over and said, “So it’s you. You dragged our household’s business into the courts and made Father lose face?”
Xu Yinyin lifted her head and looked at Qi Yunting.
Only after two lifetimes had she finally earned the chance to look him in the eye as an equal.
This time, she didn’t feel even the slightest inferiority. She said coldly, “Yes.”
Qi Yunting didn’t bother hiding his contempt. “Do you even know what that means? Your first day back and you already embarrassed the whole family. You ignorant, ungrateful fool!”
In her memories, Qi Yunting had always treated her like this.
Not a kind word, always a cold face.
As if even speaking a single word to her was beneath the dignity of a Marquis’s eldest young master.
Once, Qi Jin had even deliberately tricked her into sitting in Qi Yunting’s study chair. He’d had the chair thrown out on the spot, then ordered the whole room washed down where she’d been.
She had really been insane in her past life, letting people like this trample over her again and again.
This time, Xu Yinyin didn’t follow his lead. She just looked at him and asked curiously, “Who are you?”
Qi Yunting didn’t respond. Zhang Mama, frightened, whispered, “Young miss, this is the eldest young master…”
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