Chapter 4: Father (2)

  At that time, Father returned to Kyoto alone and it wasn't until nearly half a year later that he went to pick them up. She didn't understand the intricacies of it all back then, due to her youth and ignorance. But at the age of 22, Mother shouldn't have been oblivious to everything either? During this time, Grandmother and Chen Shi wouldn't have made any arrangements for their stay with the Xie family? This trip was like walking into a tiger's den, but Mother seemed to be expecting the Xie family to welcome them with open arms, it really frustrated her...

  She secretly sized up her mother who was softly speaking with her father, and couldn't help but feel a silent joy that she didn't resemble her mother.

  If she had her mother's temperament, Lin Yuan wouldn't have been able to harm her; she would have died long ago.

  In her sentimental mood, she suddenly heard her brother Xie Yu softly ask, "Ah Man, who is Zhen Er?"

  The little girl was stunned.

  Xie Yu pouted and moved closer to her, his eyes shining like stars. She didn't respond until after a while, her voice hoarse: "I had a dream about a child who looked exactly like Brother, and he was called Zhen'er."

  Xie Yun narrowed her eyes and sat shoulder to shoulder with her, muttering: "You must be sleepy, who would look exactly like me?"

  Xie Shu Ning nodded blankly.

  Suddenly, when her line of sight touched the clothes on her body, she was stunned again. Along her own plump hands and looking up, what entered her eyes was snow-white fine and smooth fur, with a circle of evenly sized, round pink pearls at the cuffs... A white fox fur coat, inlaid with pink southern pearls...

  What a luxury!

  Xie Shu Ning was momentarily stunned. She remembered the major events that were about to happen, but these details she couldn't recall at all. Was it her mother's intention or just a genuine concern that she wouldn't be able to withstand Kyoto's harsh cold, so she gave her this fur-lined coat to wear when entering the Xie household?

  She bit her lip, thinking that if her mother had such thoughts, she would not have lost so easily to Chen's family later on, it can be seen that this matter is just a coincidence.

  Besides, there is no one next to Song's family, but silver is abundant!

  Her uncle had only one sister, her mother, so he was willing to spend money on her. She and her brother were dressed in the best clothes and used the best things. The Xie family considered themselves a noble family, but the children of her father's brothers' families wore and used things that couldn't compare with theirs.

  Perhaps it was because of this that the Xie family did not want to acknowledge their mother's humble origins as a merchant's daughter, fearing it would tarnish the Xie family's reputation. However, deep down they were reluctant to part with their mother's substantial dowry. After their mother passed away, all of her original dowry was swallowed up by the Xie family, not even leaving a single cent for her children.

  She embezzled her birth mother's silver, but when it came time for her to get married, she couldn't bear to spend a single penny on her. At that time, the Xie family was flourishing, where would they lack such a small amount of silver? However, among her 64 dowry gifts, there were only some superficial things, and even her great-grandmother felt uneasy in her heart, so she secretly added some more to make it look better.

  This was to make Lin's family have a hard time saying no to the marriage, although she was listed under Chen's name and counted as the eldest daughter of the third house, in fact, who didn't know that she could only be considered an illegitimate child. Moreover, her dowry was not rich, so after marrying into the Lin family, she was treated coldly by her mother-in-law and disliked by Lin Yuan, and the hardship of standing firm was like walking barefoot on snowy ground even now.

  In the bitterly cold days, the three of them traveled thousands of miles from the warm and prosperous Jiangnan to the cold Kyoto, but what awaited them was a human heart that was even colder than Kyoto's weather...

  Xie Shuning stroked the southern pearl on her sleeve, trying hard to recall what had happened that winter day.

  Her sister Xie Shu Min was born in the next year's twelfth lunar month. Now it is already the end of midwinter, if she didn't remember wrongly, after a few more days it should be the twelfth lunar month again.

  That is to say, in these few months of leaving them, Father indeed kept the promise he made to Mother at that time.

  But Father had gone to a place with Chen Shi after the three of them arrived at Xie's house and had Xie Shu Min. When Mother was not around, he could hold on, but when Mother came, why couldn't he hold on? What exactly went wrong in this?

  As his thoughts wandered, the horse carriage had already slowly passed by Shouqing Gate.

  Proceeding along Sanxi Avenue, at the end of the road, turning right will reveal the iconic well made of bluestone in Shijie Hutong. Continuing forward for about 300 meters, the Xie family's residence comes into view.

  The horse carriage passed through the main gate but did not stop and instead drove directly towards the west corner gate.

  Xie Shu Ning glanced at her father's face, his expression didn't change a bit, it was clear that he knew. And since her mother had always followed her father's lead, if her father hadn't spoken up, she naturally wouldn't say anything either.

  The horse carriage stopped.

  Xie Yuanmao got off the car first and then turned around to help her up.

  "I won't go down." Xie Shuning glared with her eyes wide open.

  As they spoke, Song Shi was already prepared to take Xie Yu down from the carriage, but she was stopped by him being held around the waist and his fine eyebrows furrowed in concern: "Father once said that when visiting as a guest, the host should open the main gate to welcome us, so why now do we have to enter through the side door?"

  Big brother Xie Yu walks early, but speaks late, while she is just the opposite. At one and a half years old, she barely learned to walk, but her words were already spoken more smoothly than those of five or six year olds. So at this moment, when she says something like that, the people present don't find it strange either.

  Xie Yuanmao's face turned slightly red as he said: "Ah Man, from now on this will be our home, why are you still acting like a guest..."

  Xie Shu Ning sneered inwardly, but her face showed a suspicious expression. She opened her bright and clear eyes, staring at him firmly, saying: "If it's your own home, shouldn't you enter through the main door instead?"

  Xie Yuanmao's eyes flickered and he couldn't get his words out.

  The horse carriage was stuck at the entrance, and for a while, people inside couldn't come out, and those outside couldn't get in. Song Shi saw that things were not going well, fearing that she would cause trouble for Xie Yuanmao, who had just regained his memory half a year ago and returned to the Xie family. She hastily bent down and picked up the plump girl, forcibly stuffing her into Xie Yuanmao's arms outside, "A Man, stop causing trouble."

  She puckered her mouth and stared at Song Shi, with a mouthful of words, but they were all tangled up on the tip of her tongue and couldn't come out.

  From the very beginning of their past life, they had already lost momentum.

  Grandma told them to enter from the corner gate, what's the point of arguing about this? But Father didn't refute, Mother obeyed, so from the moment they stepped through that gate, they had already lost five points!

  Xie Shu Ning struggled in Xie Yuan Mao's arms, shouting: "I want to go by myself."

  Xie Yuanmao was a bit embarrassed, and he said in a gentle tone: "Alright, Ah Man can go by herself." As he spoke, he slowly put her down on the ground. However, before she could take two steps, someone suddenly appeared beside Xie Yuanmao and said without any regard for her feelings: "Sixth Master, Eighth Miss's attire is not suitable."

  "What's wrong?" Xie Yuanmao asked back in puzzlement.

  Xie Shu Ning heard this and secretly smiled, her father was used to a life of luxury in the Song family, so he wouldn't think there's anything wrong with what she wore. But the Xie family prided themselves on being refined and cultured, not some newly rich and arrogant household, so they naturally couldn't stand their ostentatious display.

  "Sixth Master, the old lady has always been frugal and dislikes extravagance." The person didn't answer directly, but instead brought up the old lady of the Third House of the Xie family.

  Xie Yuanmao's complexion changed slightly.

  Xie Shuning saw clearly, stomped her small feet in place, and with a flick of her eyes, she quickly lifted her skirt and ran towards the front door with her two short legs.