Zhao Shuning first returned to the Moon - Viewing Garden.
She rummaged through her own room and found a cabinet.
Previously, Luo Feiyan had said that the portrait of her mother was hidden in this cabinet.
It had been eighteen years since she last saw her. She wondered how much Ye Qingluan had changed.
She still couldn't do the substitution thing.
She had to be well - prepared for all the family tasks.
After a thorough search, Zhao Shuning found a portrait and slowly unfurled it.
The charming face of the woman appeared on the painting.
She was dressed in autumn - scented clothes, with a belt embroidered with orchids. Her waist was as slender as one could grasp, and her delicate features were not much different from the Ye Qingluan in Zhao Shuning's memory.
Sure enough, the mother of a beauty was also a beauty.
Since Zhao Shuning had been taken away by Moyan a month after her birth and raised in Loulan, she didn't have much affection for her parents in the Marquis Mansion.
She had once thought about going back, but seeing the suffering people in Loulan, she just couldn't bear to leave.
"Actually, when I see you, I really feel quite familiar and close," she murmured.
Zhao Shuning also wanted to meet Ye Qingluan.
After all, in this time and space, she was the mother of this body of hers.
But she was also afraid of being exposed.
After much entanglement in her mind, Zhao Shuning put away the painting.
She attended her afternoon classes as usual.
Later in the evening, she went to Xia Qingyan's room to watch him take his medicine.
Every time she went to the Yilan Garden, Xia Qingyan always seemed to have something on his mind but hesitated to speak. These days, Zhao Shuning was also troubled by the matter of the family visit, so she didn't notice anything different about Xia Qingyan.
After about a week.
When Xia Qingyan's body had basically recovered.
Zhao Shuning attended classes during the day and always stayed in her room at night, doing God - knows - what.
Finally, the restriction was lifted.
Zhao Shuning immediately rushed back to the small bamboo cottage in the suburbs.
Although Luo Feiyan's life in the small bamboo cottage was simple, she felt quite content.
In the morning, she would get up and walk around the cottage on her own to exercise her legs.
At noon, she would cook and feed the little rabbits.
In the afternoon, she would read the book left by her sister and try to cultivate her meager spiritual power.
At night, she would go to bed early, looking forward to seeing her sister when she woke up the next day.
She had been waiting for more than half a month.
Luo Feiyan had just finished feeding the rabbits. Now, her legs were completely healed, and she could walk without any problems.
The wounds on her hands had started to scar. Although they looked a bit ugly, Luo Feiyan didn't really care.
"Yan'er—"
Zhao Shuning's voice came before she even showed up.
Luo Feiyan quickly sat back in the wheelchair.
Even she didn't know why she did this.
Zhao Shuning soon arrived at the small bamboo courtyard. Luo Feiyan smiled and quickly handed her a cup of tea.
Zhao Shuning took it and drank it in one gulp.
"Sister, you're back."
"Yan'er, here for you."
Every time Zhao Shuning came back to the small bamboo cottage, she always brought back all kinds of interesting little things for Luo Feiyan.
Luo Feiyan took the sugar figurine.
She took a light bite.
It was so sweet.
"Sister, you came back in a hurry this time. Is something wrong?"
Zhao Shuning nodded.
She told Luo Feiyan about the family visit that happened once every three months.
After hearing this, Luo Feiyan's face turned rather pale.
"Yan'er? Don't you want to go home and see your parents?"
Luo Feiyan looked at herself and said self - deprecatingly, "If I go back to see them like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to comfort my parents. My father will be furious, and my mother will worry about me."
"How's your leg?"
"It should be almost healed."
"It's all my fault that I didn't take good care of you. You've been managing things in this bamboo garden with your injured leg. You've suffered."
"I'm already content that you can come and see me often, sister."
"So, what do you think we should do about this?"
Zhao Shuning thought for a while and then told Luo Feiyan her idea.
After she finished speaking, she stared at Luo Feiyan intently.
"Even after another month, the wounds on my hands won't heal."
Zhao Shuning frowned.
"I can find a way to cover up your scars."
Luo Feiyan shook her head.
"Sister, you said before that you wanted to pretend to be my classmate and go home with me. I think this idea is good, but we can change it. You don't need to pretend to be my classmate. You can just go home in my identity. How about that?"
"Sister, the Marquis Mansion is also your home. It's natural for you to go back. Besides, we look so alike. Not only our parents can't tell us apart, but even we ourselves have a hard time distinguishing each other. You're so capable. Once you go back, my father will be very pleased. He has placed his hopes on me for too long, but I've never made any progress in spiritual power. Once you go back, with your ability, this problem will be solved."
Zhao Shuning said, "Don't you want to go home?"
"I do, but I can't go back for now."
Luo Feiyan's expression looked a bit desolate.
She continued, "Actually, what the Marquis Mansion needs is not a well - behaved daughter. What my father wants is the future hope of Ruoqiang, the daughter of destiny who can inherit his mantle and is gifted. That's the kind of daughter they want."
"So, even if I go back, it won't make much difference."
Luo Feiyan had already seen through the life in this noble family.
Over the years, Luo Hao had tried countless methods to awaken the spiritual power in Luo Feiyan's body, but none of them had succeeded.
Gradually, the people of Ruoqiang no longer respected the Luo family as much as before.
Luo Hao and Ye Qingluan were both prominent figures in Ruoqiang. But such two heroes had given birth to a useless daughter.
Apart from her looks, she was good for nothing.
Luo Feiyan had heard so many gossips that she had become numb.
In the past, she would resist and argue, but now, she just obeyed.
Suddenly, Luo Feiyan grabbed Zhao Shuning's hand.
She said, "Sister, please go back on my behalf, okay? My parents are also your parents. Your appearance will surely reverse their current status in Ruoqiang."
It would also change her own image in the hearts of the people of Ruoqiang.
"I do want to go back, but—"
"Sister, what are you still worried about?"
Zhao Shuning looked at Luo Feiyan and said, "What about you?"
Luo Feiyan felt a warm current in her heart.
Even at this moment, her sister was still concerned about her.
"It's okay. I only now realize that I can live well and happily away from the noble family. Sister, don't worry about me. After you leave, I still have the little rabbits you raised to accompany me."
Zhao Shuning still felt a bit uneasy.
"Sister, it's settled. You want to go back this time to see Concubine Liu, right? She's your biological mother. It's normal for you to miss her."
Liu Yuan?
Zhao Shuning didn't have much affection for this person.
The reason she wanted to go back was Ye Qingluan.