Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
Su Wanning stood in the middle of the hall, dressed in thin, coarse clothes, her tears not yet dry. She truly looked as though the house’s dazzling wealth had driven her to the edge, leaving her nowhere to go.
A few young maids who had only recently joined the household sneaked glances at her, already feeling sorry for her.
Wet Nurse Qian was quick to seize the moment. She dropped to her knees.
“Miss Peiyao, our young lady isn’t trying to steal your wealth. She’s just afraid!”
“All these years, she had to eat bran and wild greens in the Su household, abused by her adoptive mother. In winter, she didn’t even have a proper padded coat.”
“After all that hardship, she finally learned she was the Marquis’s own blood. The moment she came through the door, she saw another young lady dressed in a phoenix crown and bridal veil, with a procession of wedding gifts stretching ten miles.”
As she cried, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“Who wouldn’t be frightened in her place?”
Su Wanning lowered her head and sobbed as well.
“I have no other intentions. I only want to know whether my parents will still acknowledge me.”
I looked at her and asked, “Who are these ‘parents’ you speak of?”
Su Wanning froze.
I said, “The Marquis of Yongning and his wife are my parents.”
“The heir of the Marquis of Yongning, Ji Huaiyue, is your father.”
“If by ‘Mother’ you mean your birth mother, then that would be Madam Shen, the heir’s wife. She died of illness three years ago.”
Su Wanning’s lashes trembled.
Wet Nurse Qian hurried to speak.
“Our young lady just came home. How could she possibly know all these forms of address? All she heard outside was that she was the daughter of the Marquis of Yongning. Of course she assumed…”
“Assumed what?”
I cut her off.
“Assumed that any daughter of the marquis could seize someone else’s marriage?”
Wet Nurse Qian’s expression turned ugly.
Just then, light footsteps came from the rear courtyard.
A young woman in a lotus-colored dress entered, supported by a maid.
Her face was a little pale, her eyes gentle.
It was Ji Mingyi.
The girl whose identity had been switched with Su Wanning’s.
She had been ill for the past few days as our family investigated her birth.
Ji Mingyi first bowed to me.
“Paternal Aunt.”
Then she looked at Su Wanning.
“Are you Wanning?”
Su Wanning studied her, a complicated expression in her eyes.
Ji Mingyi stepped in front of her and said softly, “If you truly are Father’s daughter, I’ll return the young lady’s place in the family to you.”
Su Wanning’s tears welled up again.
“You’re willing?”
Ji Mingyi nodded.
“I’m not a blood daughter of the Ji family. All these years, Grandmother, Father, and everyone in this household have cared for me. That alone is a tremendous blessing.”
“If you’ve come home, I won’t compete with you.”
She paused, then continued softly, “My clothes, jewelry, and the account books for my courtyard—I’ll hand them all over, too.”
Su Wanning’s eyes flickered.
Wet Nurse Qian immediately asked, “And what about the Duke of Jingguo’s marriage?”
Ji Mingyi was taken aback.
I set down my teacup.
“Wet Nurse Qian, if your ears aren’t working, I can call someone to treat them.”
“When did the Duke of Jingguo’s marriage ever belong to Mingyi?”
Wet Nurse Qian choked on her words. Her face shifted from pale to red.
Su Wanning said softly, “Why are you so angry, Paternal Aunt? Wet Nurse is only worried for me.”
She looked at Ji Mingyi.
“Elder Sister Mingyi is willing to return my place in the family. I’m deeply grateful.”
“But everyone outside knows that a daughter of this household was betrothed to the Duke of Jingguo. Now that the truth has come out, won’t people think…”
“What outsiders think is their business.”
I spoke coldly.
“The marriage contract says Ji Peiyao. Not Ji Mingyi, and certainly not Su Wanning.”
Su Wanning gripped her handkerchief tightly and said nothing more.
Ji Mingyi suddenly turned to me, her voice very soft.
“Paternal Aunt, if my identity brings trouble to your reputation and the marquis’s household…”
I frowned.
She continued, “I can leave the residence.”
“Nonsense.”
I cut her off.
“Who gave you permission to leave?”
Ji Mingyi’s eyes reddened.
Su Wanning saw this, and something flashed in her eyes.
She suddenly knelt.
“Paternal Aunt, I never meant to force Elder Sister Mingyi. If the marquis’s household can’t accommodate two daughters, I’ll leave.”
Wet Nurse Qian immediately wailed, “My young lady! You’re the true daughter! What kind of family makes its own daughter yield to an outsider?”
Quite a few servants had gathered outside the hall.
The main gates of the marquis’s residence were wide open for the betrothal procession, and many people were passing by.
If this display of crying and wailing got out, tomorrow the whole capital would be saying:
The real young lady had come home, but the false heiress refused to leave. The paternal aunt used her marriage to oppress her.
I closed my eyes.
When I opened them, I said to Auntie Du, “Close the doors.”
Auntie Du answered at once.
The heavy hall doors shut, cutting off the curious stares from outside.
I stepped in front of Su Wanning and looked down at her.
“If you truly want to return to your family, I’ll give you that chance.”
“But if you’re using the search for your birth family to steal my marriage, seize property, and drive Mingyi away…”
“Then the gates of the Marquis of Yongning’s residence may not be as easy to enter as you imagine.”
6
Su Wanning raised her head, her eyes blurred with tears.
“Paternal Aunt, you don’t believe me?”
“I believe evidence.”
I returned to my seat beside the place of honor.