Chapter One

  Sitting in the carriage, Xianyi still felt a bit dazed. She hadn't expected that she could really leave the Jin Mansion with her head held high and depart the city with Jinfenghua. Due to propriety, Xianyi only carefully opened a corner of the window curtain. The pedestrians and shops on the road looked so real, as if they were in a completely different world from the Jin Mansion. She let go of the curtain, and the outside noise was immediately blocked out. Leaning against the carriage wall, she took a deep breath. Since she had already made up her mind, she would see it through no matter what.

  Jin Fenghua sat opposite Xianyi, thinking that the Jin family wouldn't allow him to bring many servants, except for his personal attendant, only Xianyi followed him, and Pan Tao would assign others tasks after they left, no one would raise a maid just because of a deceased aunt. So later on, the food, clothing, and travel arrangements might have to be taken care of by Xianyi alone.

  "Are you not bringing Pan Tao out?" Xian Yi initially thought that Pan Tao would follow, but unexpectedly, Jin Fenghua left her behind without saying a word. Although the reason she gave to Pan Tao was that the madam did not allow it, who was Jin Fenghua? Others might not know, but she should be clear about it. After all, Pan Tao was just a little maid, and with just a flick of Jin Fenghua's wrist, she could have taken her away. Besides, Pan Tao had been devotedly serving Lady Han for so long.

  Jin Fenghua held the book and looked at it, her eyelids raised, and said calmly: "I don't need people with too much heart around me."

  Faintly, without emotion, but when heard in Xian Yi's ears, she felt a chill run down her spine. She had thought that Jin Feng Hua's silence meant he didn't care, but it turned out that every expression of the people around him was etched into his eyes, and even the slightest thought couldn't escape his notice. Xian Yi leaned back slightly, her posture becoming even more proper, and the thoughts that had flashed through her mind, whether feasible or not, were all deeply buried in her heart, as if she wished they had never occurred to her at all.

  Jin Fenghua was still carelessly looking at the book, but his mouth corners slightly curved upwards.

  Linqing is to the west of Pei Guo, and it takes about half a month by horse-drawn carriage from the capital. There are several relay stations along the way for rest or changing horses. Xian Yi had known that the journey would be boring, so she brought some miscellaneous books and folk toys. Just after asking Jin Fenghua, as soon as she opened the book, she felt the carriage slowing down to a stop. She raised her head in surprise but didn't dare ask another question.

  The carriage came to a stop, and someone outside knocked on the door. Jin Fenghua only responded with a slight "hmm" from inside, and the person outside opened the carriage door. Xian Yi took a surreptitious glance and saw that the person was wearing a short jacket with gold trim, indicating they were a servant of the Jin family, likely in charge of the horses or carriages. However, Xian Yi was certain she had never seen this person before at the Jin estate.

  "Master, we've arrived at the money shop." The man said with a bow from outside.

  "Go ahead, don't you have something stored at the money house?"

  Xian Yi hastily pulled out the seal and documents from her sleeve pocket and handed them over to the person outside. Soon, that person brought back all the gold, silver, and jade items that Xian Yi had stored away, not a single item missing. As the carriage continued on its way, Xian Yi held onto the package and asked foolishly, "If we stop halfway like this, won't the Jin family find out?"

  Jin Fenghua didn't even bother giving her a glance, put down the book and lay down, still with his back to Xian Yi.

  Xian Yi felt embarrassed, and when she came to her senses, she also thought that this question was silly. With Jin Fenghua's abilities, it would be no problem to take something, let alone rob someone halfway. She didn't know why she had started thinking about this, but it seemed that deep down, she was still very willing to leave the Jin Manor and never go back.

  As they headed west, it was already getting dark by the time they left the capital and arrived at the first relay station. Since Jin Fenghua and Xian Yi had little luggage, and Madame Han's coffin was stored in a nearby Taoist temple, Xian Yi didn't need to stay long in the courtyard of the relay station before going upstairs. Jin Fenghua had sent someone over early to book two upper rooms. Xian Yi waited at Jin Fenghua's door for a moment, but didn't enter the room, and instead returned to her own room. Someone had already lit the oil lamp inside, so although it was dark outside, the room was bright. Xian Yi was exhausted, and just as she was about to pour herself a cup of water, she suddenly saw someone standing by the window. At first, she was startled and almost cried out, but then her eyes reddened, and she rushed over to hug the person, sobbing softly.

  "Mother!"

  Madam Chen felt especially emotional when she saw her daughter, thinking that at the moment of danger, she would be separated from her daughter by life and death, but unexpectedly, they still had a chance to reunite.

  "Don't cry, don't cry!" Chen's wife wiped Xian Yi's eyes with her handkerchief and smiled.

  "Daughter, how did you end up here?" Xian Yi cried and then realized her face was red. At her age, which wasn't young in either her past or present life, she was actually like a soft and delicate girl who would cry at the drop of a hat, so she hurriedly cleared her throat and changed the subject to cover it up.

  Madam Chen, of course, couldn't laugh at her own daughter, so she pulled her daughter's hand and sat down at the table, saying: "It was Third Master who sent someone to bring me over. He said you're going with Third Master to Linqing for a while, and before you leave, come see me."

  "Mother... are you okay now?" Xian Yi didn't know what Jin Fenghua had said to his mother when he sent her off, so he could only ask vaguely.

  "Alright, what's wrong?" Madam Chen said as she pulled her daughter's hand and examined it for a while, smiling: "Indeed, girls change eighteen times by the age of eighteen, now you're all set to get married."

  "Daughter?" Xian Yi wasn't embarrassed, she just didn't expect that Jin Fenghua had told her mother about this too.

  "The mother knows that the lady looks down on her, so even if she goes back, there's no benefit. It's better to give her a manor like this, where she can live freely and comfortably. The neighbors are all good people, and now she has someone to serve her as the mistress of the house." In Pei Guo, it was not common for mothers-in-law and sons-in-law to live together. Chen Jie originally thought that marrying her daughter into the Jin family would allow her to spend her old age in comfort at the Jin residence without causing trouble for her daughter. However, things have turned out well like this too, especially since this manor was one that her grandfather had managed when he was alive, and everywhere she looks feels familiar.

  Xian Yi's expression became increasingly suspicious, and it wasn't until she heard a segment that she understood. Chen Niangniang actually thought that the main lady was using this opportunity to prevent her from returning to the manor. Moreover, with the deed of sale for her mother's life and the land deed for the estate managed by her maternal grandfather, Chen Niangniang thought that this was the Chen family's compensation to her. Given Chen Niangniang's temperament, since the master's household had done so, she would not possibly return to verify it. She simply took it as a blessing and came to live on this remote estate, unaware that the Chen family had sold the estate years ago, and the deed was actually retrieved by Jin Fenghua.

  "Although the lady no longer needs me, I'll give you a bit of face. Even if Third Young Master is illegitimate, you're still a concubine's daughter. In our country, even an illegitimate child is better than a servant. Once you leave and get married, as a mother, there won't be much to worry about. When you return to the Jin Manor and get married, Third Young Master has a gentle nature, so the lady will likely be lenient with you both, considering my position. Moreover, Eldest Young Mistress will soon enter the manor, and it's only a matter of time before you two separate... Just... avoid other young masters in the future and live your life quietly behind closed doors."

  Xian Yi knew that her mother was well aware of the young master's behavior, so she nodded in agreement. Now that Madam Han had finalized the marriage arrangements, even her own mother thought so too. It seemed that no matter what ideas Xian Yi might have, as long as Jin Fenghua wanted to marry her, she would have no choice but to accept.

  "Alright, Mother, wait for me." Xian Yi suddenly stood up and placed the package containing gold, silver, and jade utensils from the money house in front of her mother, smiling: "This is yours, Mother. You take it."

  However, Chen's mother returned the package and shook her head: "You are my daughter. Although it is not popular for a servant to marry with a dowry, now that I am also of good social status, how can I not prepare a dowry for my daughter? Moreover, Madam has given me an estate and a sum of money for retirement. These were originally prepared by me for you."

  The two of them pushed back and forth, but in the end, Xian Yi still couldn't resist her mother's persistence and accepted the money. However, she was also clear that Madam would never give her mother any retirement money, so that sum of money must have been paid by Jin Fenghua herself. For a moment, she couldn't express what she felt in her heart.

  That night, Xianyi and her mother lay on the same bed, just like those married daughters who slept with their mothers on the eve of their wedding. There were some things that a daughter-in-law had to be taught by her mother. Xianyi could see that her mother really thought it was Madame who had saved her after she gave birth, so she was teaching Xianyi even more carefully, because as someone who used to give birth in the Chen family, Nanny Chen would not be able to enter the mansion before Xianyi's wedding.

  At this moment, Xianyi finally understood that her mother was not all-powerful, she was just a woman in the mansion, and unfortunately, her daughter would probably never return to the Jin family again.

  The next day, Chen's mother watched as her daughter got into the carriage with Yingtai by her side and slowly left the station. Perhaps in her heart, she thought that her daughter not marrying a man to be his concubine but instead becoming the mistress was probably the best outcome for this lifetime.

  Xian Yi didn't relax until she couldn't see her mother's figure anymore, and then she leaned against the soft pillow and let out a sigh. No matter what had happened in the past, at this moment she was very grateful to Jin Fenghua, at least he allowed her mother to live such a stable life, and wouldn't get involved in her uncertain future with Jin Fenghua.

  "When we get married, I'll send someone to pick up your mother. It's not suitable for her to follow us now." Jin Fenghua said, looking at Xianyi's appearance and mistakenly thinking that she was reluctant to part with her mother.

  "Young master, from now on this slave will follow young master." Xian Yi relaxed and without any worries, naturally started to joke around.

  Jin Fenghua's eyes were filled with the sweet smiles of the girls in front of her, and she felt as if she had eaten too much sweets, even her ears turned red. Jin Fenghua slightly furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side, secretly feeling her own pulse, this kind of rapid heartbeat, dry mouth and tongue, could it be that someone had poisoned her?