"Miss, miss, miss..."
She was rudely woken up by Zhuque. She was quite annoyed at first, but then heard Zhuque say cheerfully, "Miss, you were right. That woman entered the mansion early this morning. The prime minister brought her back himself!"
Cheng Xiran, who had been sleepy-eyed, suddenly came to her senses. "Really?"
"Absolutely..." While helping Cheng Xiran wash and dress, Zhuque continued, "She's in the front hall, serving tea to the old lady. The prime minister told me to wake you up so that you can go there earlier for breakfast and get to know each other."
This Xue Lianyu must have some tricks up her sleeve, or this wouldn't have happened so soon.
Cheng Xiran immediately got excited and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes. We should really get to know each other. From now on, we'll all be family."
As if suddenly remembering something, she had a sudden realization. "How did Mrs. Liu react?"
Zhuque held back her laughter and carefully helped Cheng Xiran arrange her hair. "She seems to have no reaction. I thought Mrs. Liu would make a big scene, but unexpectedly she looks quite calm."
Cheng Xiran sneered. "What else can she do if she's not calm? If she chooses to make a scene at this moment, her status might disappear along with her favor."
Although she was still a bit sleepy, watching the show was far more interesting to her.
After getting dressed and arriving at the front hall, she heard complete silence inside. She guessed that her grandmother was not very happy.
After all, this girl came from a brothel.
"Xiran pays respects to grandmother and father."
Cheng Xiran quickly walked into the hall. After getting the old lady's permission to stand up, she noticed the woman quietly sitting beside her father. At first glance, she didn't look like someone from that kind of place. She was simply dressed and delicately made up. Although her appearance was not outstanding, she gave a comfortable feeling, so she was more pleasing to the eye than Mrs. Liu.
The girl then generously bowed to her. "Greetings, eldest miss. I'm Sun Yanyan."
It seemed that the false identity had been well-prepared, and she had learned a lot in Huayan Pavilion in the past few days. Her every gesture showed the grace of a well-bred lady.
The old lady looked at Cheng Xiran worriedly, but unexpectedly, Cheng Xiran stepped forward and held Sun Yanyan's hand as if they were old friends. "I should pay respects to you. I should also respectfully address you as stepmother."
"I really can't accept this."
Sun Yanyan kept declining. Hearing this, Prime Minister Cheng patiently advised, "Although you're not much older than Xiran, you're now my concubine. In terms of seniority, Xiran can address you as stepmother, and you can accept it."
Mrs. Liu silently sipped her tea, while Cheng Zhiyue on the other side gritted her teeth in hatred.
She not only felt sorry for her own situation but also felt aggrieved for the suffering her mother had endured in the past few days. Unable to contain herself, she stepped forward towards Prime Minister Cheng and coldly questioned, "Father, why have you become like this? Have you forgotten what you said when you promoted mother's status? You said you would only marry her in this lifetime!"
Mrs. Liu's face turned tense even before Prime Minister Cheng could say anything. Without waiting for his response, she "took the lead" and slapped her daughter, scolding, "Cheng Zhiyue, when did you ever have the right to point fingers in this family? Your father must have his reasons for what he does. Why do you need to talk so much?"
After scolding, she explained to Prime Minister Cheng in a gentle tone, "My lord, please don't blame Zhiyue. She's just worried about me. Of course, I'm very happy that the new sister has come to serve you."
Cheng Zhiyue sobbed softly. Mrs. Liu quickly pulled her aside.
Cheng Xiran watched the whole scene with great interest.
She deliberately looked at her father but only found his face as cold and heartless as iron. Sure enough, from the very beginning, he was not a good husband. He only cared about his own power and position. He was selfish and arrogant. Now that he had power, he was never satisfied. He did a lot of sycophantic and despicable things in private, which was really astonishing.
"I'm glad you're happy, sister. I thought you wouldn't welcome me. It seems I was overthinking."
Mrs. Liu disdainfully glanced at her and secretly looked at Cheng Zhiyue, signaling her with her eyes not to cry anymore.
"Alright, alright. Anyway, I've always known that you never take my opinion into account..." The old lady stopped looking at the others and just told the servants to serve breakfast.
Sun Yanyan didn't go through the proper procedures when she entered the Cheng family. She was just brought back, and that was it. Cheng Xiran knew very well that with the previous promotion of a concubine's status and now the entry of a new concubine, if the news spread widely, her father's reputation would not be good. So, they could only wrong Sun Yanyan.
Her father had always been extremely selfish.
But after all, she was a newly arrived concubine and was favored by Prime Minister Cheng. The servants didn't dare to neglect her. They cleaned up the side rooms and served her properly. Prime Minister Cheng also said before going to court that there should be more dishes for lunch so that everyone could sit together and have a lively meal.
Cheng Xiran's mood today was as pleasant as the gentle autumn wind outside. The wind on her face brought nothing but joy.
To avoid suspicion, she didn't go to find Sun Yanyan immediately. She thought that Xue Lianyu might be waiting for her praise at the newspaper office. So, after breakfast, she went straight there.
Sure enough, that guy was there, and he had been drinking early in the morning.
Sitting upright beside him was Helian Duo.