Chapter 2

“If the Duke’s betrothal gifts are for the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning, they shouldn’t end up in the hands of a girl who was switched at birth.”

Wet Nurse Qian immediately chimed in.

“Exactly.”

“Our young lady has only just come through the door. She doesn’t dare fight or take anything from anyone.”

“But she can’t stand by and watch someone else steal the blessing her birth parents begged for on her behalf.”

Su Wanning lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.

“I don’t want to make things difficult for the Duke of Jingguo’s household.”

“But I wandered outside for sixteen years and finally made it back home. If I have to yield even my own marriage, wouldn’t that be ridiculous?”

She certainly knew how to make it sound reasonable.

I stood in the hall without a word.

The smile had completely vanished from Xu An’s face.

He glanced at Su Wanning again, frowning slightly.

Then he walked past her and came toward me.

4

The wounded curve of Su Wanning’s mouth had not yet relaxed when it froze in place.

Xu An stopped in front of me and bowed.

“This servant pays his respects to Miss Peiyao.”

“Her Ladyship, the Duchess, instructed us that today’s betrothal gifts are to follow the inventory on the imperial marriage contract and be delivered to Miss Ji Peiyao, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning.”

“Here is the inventory of the gifts. Please review it.”

I accepted the list.

Su Wanning’s face paled a little.

It seemed she had finally realized something was wrong, but she still wasn’t willing to admit defeat.

“Peiyao?”

She repeated my name under her breath and turned to look at me.

“Aren’t you Ji Mingyi?”

I raised my eyes.

“Ji Mingyi is my eldest brother’s daughter.”

Su Wanning stared blankly.

A flicker of panic passed over Wet Nurse Qian’s face, too.

I explained slowly, “If you truly are my eldest brother’s daughter who was lost outside the household, then Ji Mingyi is your cousin.”

“And I’m your paternal aunt.”

Several maids in the hall couldn’t help lowering their heads.

Su Wanning looked as though someone had publicly slapped her in the face. Her expression flushed red, then white.

Wet Nurse Qian reacted fastest. She dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Please forgive Miss Peiyao! Our young lady has only just returned. She didn’t recognize you—she’s still frightened by all the suffering she endured over the years.”

She began to wail.

“She suffered so much outside the household. All she heard was that the marquis’s daughter was about to marry into the Duke of Jingguo’s family.”

“How could she know there was also a paternal aunt her own age in the household?”

Su Wanning’s tears fell in turn.

“Paternal Aunt, I was disrespectful.”

She changed her form of address quickly, though she forced out “Paternal Aunt” with difficulty.

“But I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just… frightened.”

She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“I was afraid that, after finally coming home, I’d find there was no place left for me.”

If she had stopped there, perhaps the matter could have been handled leniently.

But the next moment, her gaze fell on the betrothal inventory in my hand.

“Since you’re my elder, Paternal Aunt, I’m sure you won’t hold it against a girl who has only just come home.”

Her voice was gentle, but every word circled back to the marriage.

“Everyone outside says the Duke of Jingguo’s household sought the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning.”

“Now that I’ve returned, if the Duke’s household still goes through with the betrothal as planned, won’t people say the marquis’s household deliberately mistreated its own flesh and blood?”

I placed the betrothal inventory on the table.

“Mistreated you?”

“Su Wanning, if this household truly meant to mistreat you, you would be standing guard outside the door right now—not here discussing whether my marriage should be given to you.”

Her face grew even paler.

Wet Nurse Qian sprang to her feet as if defending her mistress.

“Why must Miss Peiyao be so aggressive? Our young lady only wants justice!”

Auntie Du said coldly, “Justice isn’t something you can take by force.”

Wet Nurse Qian was left speechless.

I turned to Xu An.

“Please have the betrothal gifts entered into the storeroom as usual, and keep the inventory for the household accounts. We have a family matter to settle today. I’m sorry you had to witness it, Steward Xu.”

Xu An bowed hurriedly.

“You’re too kind, Miss. Her Ladyship the Duchess said the marriage contract bears your name, so the gifts are for you alone.”

Su Wanning’s fingertips trembled.

She bit her lip, then said in a low voice, “So what if the contract bears your name? The marriage was only meant for a legitimate daughter. Am I not a legitimate daughter, too?”

I turned to look at her.

Tears slid down her cheeks, but she still lifted her chin.

“I am a child of the Ji family. Why should I come home only to be treated as a niece?”

“Why were you born to loving parents and promised to a duke’s household, while I can be sent away with nothing more than a word about seniority?”

I looked at her for a long moment.

“Because my mother gave birth to me.”

“Because your father is my elder brother.”

5

Su Wanning was left speechless by that.

Outside, the betrothal gifts were carried into the residence, load after load, the bright red silk dazzling to the eye.