Chapter 2: The Return Journey

  "Ding——ding ding——"

  A sudden burst of horseshoes sound came from nowhere near the ear, making people's heads ache.

  Xie Shu Ning furrowed her brow, subconsciously reaching out to rub her temples, but was suddenly grabbed by someone. She was startled and quickly opened her eyes. The face that entered her line of sight was Zhang Xiao Xiao's, with a pair of distinct black and white phoenix eyes, the outer corners slightly raised with a hint of arrogance, while the pupils were as black as ink, bright and clear, staring at her motionlessly.

  This face...

  Xie Shu Ning was stunned and called out in a soft, sweet, almost childish voice: "Zhēn ér!"

  "Mom, little sister is awake!"

  Suddenly, that small face drew near, and his forehead was pressed against hers in an instant. The small mouth shouted loudly. Xie Shuning heard the sound and put down her hand which was about to reach out. She stared at the little boy who was tightly attached to her with wide eyes, stunned and forgetting to push him away. It wasn't Zhen'er, the person in front of her wasn't her Zhen'er!

  Suddenly, a slender white hand reached out and gently pushed away the little boy who was clinging to her. A soft female voice then said, "Ah Man is still ill, don't disturb her."

  Ah Man...

  Xie Shu Ning's body trembled, Ah Man was her milk name, it was her uncle Song Yan Zhao who personally gave her the milk name! After she was born, her father named her Shu Ning, wishing her a gentle and peaceful nature. However, her uncle disliked this name and couldn't persuade her father to change it, so he seized the opportunity to give her a milk name with her mother's help. As it turned out, although her personality wasn't as gentle and quiet as her parents had hoped, she did live up to her uncle's wish for her to be lively and lovely. Unfortunately, after her mother passed away, she was taken in by her great-aunt from the main branch of the family to raise, and from then on, she never heard the name "Ah Man" again.

  "Mother, are we really going to live in Kyoto from now on?" The delicate child pouted and furrowed his shallow brow, muttering, "Hui'er likes Yanling Fu, not Kyoto. Ah Man doesn't like it either! If not, Ah Man wouldn't have fallen ill this time."

  "You're always talking nonsense, it's because you sneaked into her bed at night that Ah Man got sick. As a result, more than half of Ah Man's body was exposed outside the quilt, and she caught a cold. What does this have to do with Kyoto?" The young woman scolded.

  Kyoto!

  Xie Suning, who had been listening to the two people talking in a daze, suddenly widened her eyes, feeling that the back of her shirt was wet with sweat, and fine beads of sweat also appeared on her palms.

  She remembered, the person in front of her was clearly her mother Song and twin brother who had long since passed away!

  Struggling to sit up, Xie Junying stared at that small face, feeling a sharp pain in her heart.

  Zhen'er doesn't resemble her or Lin Yuanzhi, but rather has a 70-80% resemblance to her late brother Xie Yu.

  Her brother, not yet grown up, had gone to the Yellow Springs, just like her younger brother... hadn't even had time to show her their smiling faces, and had thoroughly disappeared from her side. Tears uncontrollably burst forth, Xie Shu Ning cried until she couldn't catch her breath.

  "Ah Man, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?" The young woman in the bright red embroidered dress and sleeves quickly bent down to hug her tightly and asked softly.

  Xie Shu Ning gazed through her misty eyes at the young woman in front of her, whose skin was as white as snow and beauty surpassed that of flowers. She felt a little dazed, recalling things that had happened when she was young. After her mother's death, she had countless times resented her mother. If it weren't for her mother's overly weak temperament, how could Chen Shi have snatched away her rightful position as the legitimate wife? How could she and her brother have been registered under Chen Shi's name, calling a thief their mother? And how could her brother have died?

  It shouldn't have been like this from the very beginning!

  "Ah Man, Ah Man?"

  Xie Shu Ning pulled at Song Shi's collar and wailed loudly, refusing to respond to her repeated calls.

  She wants to cry, she wants to cry desperately!

  When she was alive, she didn't dare cry and couldn't cry. Now that she's dead, won't they even let her have a good cry?

  "Madam, we've entered the city gate." Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice came from outside.

  Xie Shu Ning's crying gradually stopped, and vaguely remembered that this voice was the voice of her mother's companion, Gui Shi, also known as Lu Jing's mother, her wet nurse!

  When she married into the Lin family, only Gui Mama accompanied her. Unfortunately, Gui Mama's health was poor and she passed away after just a few years. Xie Shu Ning thought of this and couldn't help but feel an even greater pain in her heart. She knew that she had died, which is why she could see these people who had long since left the world. But... where did her child go? And it seemed like there was something not quite right with her body!

  In her confusion, she heard Song say softly: "Aman must be thinking of Father. We've already entered the city and will see Father in a little while, but if Aman continues to cry like this, Father will surely not be pleased."

  Xie Shu Ning heard this and was stunned. After crying bitterly for a while, her confused mind finally cleared up a bit.

  A horse-drawn carriage... Kyoto... A brother who looks like he's only four or five years old... A young mother...

  She stared with her eyes wide open, tightly grasping Song's hand, and shouted recklessly: "Mother, you can't go to the Xie family! We're going back, back to Yanling!"

  Song heard that his eyes were wide with wonder, and after a while, he comforted her and kissed her small face full of panic, smiling and saying: "Ah Man, what's going on? Yanling is good, but it can't compare to the prosperity of the capital. Tomorrow, when your father takes you out for a stroll, you'll forget about Yanling."

  "Mother, you can't go back! Chen will torment you to death, and brother will be ruined..."

  "Ah Man!" Xie Shu Ning's urgent cry was cut off by a stern voice, Song's face looked somewhat unpleasant as he said gloomily, "Where did you hear this from, child? Chen Shi... is just your father's cousin."

  Xie Shu Ning was angry that she didn't struggle, clenching her fists and wanting to get out of her arms, so that the carriage could immediately turn back to Yanling. But her small body was tightly held by Song Shi.

  "Ah Man, once we arrive at the Xie's house, these words must never be mentioned again." Song Shi looked at her with some worry and reminded her anxiously. As she spoke, she thought to herself that a child of less than four years old couldn't possibly say such things - who was behind this, instigating trouble?

  Xie Shu Ning's words were all blocked in her throat.

  Can't go back!

  How can I go back home!

  That's not even their home!

  This time, Father became someone else's father, and Mother became a concubine. She and her brother became pitiful children without a mother or father. Immediately after, Mother died in sorrow, and her young brother lost his life at the hands of a wicked person. After Chen Shi's daughter, Juemin, was born, Father's official career flourished, where did he still have her, this daughter? As for Grandmother, it's not even necessary to mention, in Grandmother's eyes, she might not be as important as those few maids by Grandmother's side.

  The maid learns from a dog wagging its tail and is still able to beg for sympathy. What about her? No matter how hard she tries to please, it's all in vain.

  "Can't go back——" Xie Shu Ning's heart almost hung in her throat, afraid that those nightmares etched into her bones would come again, the soft and sweet voice trapped in Song's arms changed tone.