The Lucky Heiress

After a while, Madam Yun muttered to herself again, “It seems Ruoruo never really saw me as her mother in her heart…”

“Madam, no rush, there are still many days to come,” Cuiping remarked authoritatively.

“That child… I carried her for ten months… How could she completely deny me as her mother…” Madam Yun whispered weakly.

Seeing her wounded in spirit, Cuiping dared not to coax her further. She instructed the servants to clear the food and brought in a nutritious ginseng soup. After persuading Madam Yun to drink, she helped her to lie down on the bed.

The next morning, Madam Yun received a letter from Wei Qingwan.

The first half of the letter explained how she had tricked her way into the position of concubine to Prince Yu, while the latter part described how Mamma Li and Cuihe had betrayed her the previous night.

After reading the letter, Madam Yun sighed, “Send a response to the concubine of Prince Yu, she should let it go and move on. It is not uncommon for a maid to become a concubine, there is no need to be overly upset.”

Madam Yun did not consider this a major issue, it would indeed be unpleasant, but it had already happened and it was unnecessary to hold a grudge over it.

Moreover, Madam Yun was in no mood to worry about Wei Qingwan’s affairs at the moment. She had just learned about the lengths Wei Qingwan went to secure the position of concubine. Her mood had yet to calm down.

###

On the twelfth of the first lunar month, Xu Zhengyong’s family arrived in the capital city, slightly ahead of schedule.

Wei Ruo, who was staying at the Qiao Manor had been waiting for their arrival at their temporary residence.

“Nurse!”

The moment she saw her nanny, Wei Ruo ran to hug her.

The nanny held Wei Ruo tightly and couldn’t help but weep tears of joy.

Xu Zhengyong stood by, scratched his nose, and waited quietly.

Xiumei’s gaze fell on Xu Zhengyong, she was surprised to find that he had grown so much taller!

Not only had he grown taller, he had become more robust and his physique seemed much broader than before.

His skin was also darker than before and his entire temperament seemed different.

Xiumei felt a strange emotion welling up in her heart, her eyes fixated on Xu Zhengyong, unable to move away.

Xu Zhengyong also noticed Xiumei, a simple smile spread across his face as he stood there grinning goofily.

He approached Xiumei, looked down at her — who was now much shorter than him, and cheerily greeted, “Meimei, it’s been a while.”

Xiumei’s face suddenly flushed, she turned away and muttered, “What have you been eating lately? You’ve grown really big.”

Xu Zhengyong laughed foolishly, “Really? My parents also say I’ve grown a lot, but I don’t feel much different.”

When Wei Ruo and the nanny separated, Xiumei dashed over to Wei Ruo, tugged at her sleeve, and urged her to look at Xu Zhengyong.

Wei Ruo also noticed how much more robust and taller Xu Zhengyong had become.

However, it was understandable. Uncle Xu was already a big man, and Xu Zhengyong naturally took after him. It made complete sense for Xu Zhengyong to grow to such a size. Besides, he was at the age where he would be growing quickly anyway. Spending all day in the military camp, he had obviously become more muscular than other people of his age.

“Brother Xiaoyong, you really have the demeanor of a general now.” Wei Ruo commented with a laugh.

“Daughter, don’t flatter him too much, or he will become proud.” the nurse warned.

“Mom, it’s rare for Ruo to praise me, why won’t you let her? I haven’t had enough of it!” Xu Zhengyong protested.

Wei Ruo hurriedly added, “Nurse, Brother Xiaoyong really is very impressive. He should be praised.”

Xu Zhengyong grinned, “Mom, you see, Ruo says I’m impressive too!”

“Don’t let this get to your head!” the nurse cautioned.

“I understand, don’t worry.” Xu Zhengyong reassured her, then turned to Wei Ruo and asked, “Ruo, how have you been living recently?”

“All is written in the letter, I’m doing well!” replied Wei Ruo.

“That might not be the case. You are the type to keep things to yourself. If something happened, you wouldn’t tell me in the letter, so I had to ask you in person to confirm.” Xu Zhengyong declared earnestly.

“I’m very well, really, absolutely certain, more real than gold!” Wei Ruo assured him.

“That’s good.” Xu Zhengyong relaxed and asked, “Is Prince Wang really as good as you say? He hasn’t bullied you?”

God knows how much he wanted to rush into the Capital City when he learned that Wei Ruo was to marry a sick and dying prince.

Fortunately, he was in the military camp and by the time he got the news, it was too late, Wei Ruo had already been married. Immediately after, he received Wei Ruo’s letter.

Knowing that Wei Ruo was doing well in the residence of King Rui, Xu Zhengyong was finally reassured and stayed in the military camp.

“Really really.” Wei Ruo said with a laugh, “When you meet him, you will know how true my words are.”

Due to the inconvenience of correspondence, Wei Ruo did not reveal Wei Jinyi’s real identity in her letter. She only mentioned that the prince treated her well and allowed her to do anything.

“Alright,” Xu Zhengyong said “If he dares to bully you, you tell me and I will confront him with a sword!”

Wei Ruo burst out laughing at this.

“It will be useless to prod with a sword, you wouldn’t stand a chance.” Xiumei muttered under her breath.

“Meimei, what are you whispering about?” Xu Zhengyong’s gaze shifted to Xiumei once again.

“Nothing.” Xiumei quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact with Xu Zhengyong.

Realizing something was off this time, Xu Zhengyong approached her, “Meimei, what’s wrong? Why are you avoiding me?”

“Who’s avoiding you? I…I just don’t want to talk to you!” Xiumei explained.

“Why don’t want to talk to me? We just met, and I didn’t offend you.” Xu Zhengyong was confused.

Before today’s meeting, he thought a lot and decided not to provoke Xiumei or argue with her.

He felt he performed quite well, why was she still unhappy?

“I didn’t say you offended me.” Xiumei pouted.

Wei Ruo glanced helplessly at the two of them, she then played the peacemaker, “Can you two give me a break today, just one day of truce, ok?”

“Of course, no problem.” Xu Zhengyong agreed wholeheartedly.

Xiumei’s expression seemed a bit forced: “Um, I will not fight with him.”

It wasn’t that she wanted to argue with Xiaoyong, but for some reason, the sight of him now gave her an odd feeling that caused her to be inexplicably irritated.

Then, Wei Ruo suggested that Xu Zhengyong and the others take a break first, after their long journey and they must’ve been tired.

In the meantime, Wei Ruo and Xiumei personally went to the kitchen to cook a feast with fine wine for everyone. They all sat down to enjoy the meal together.

Although the temporary residence was not luxurious, it was considered a mansion compared to where they used to live.

Here, there was no distinction between men and women, and no hierarchy.

They ate and drank, chatted and laughed, occasionally told jokes and enjoyed the laughter.

After the meal, Wei Ruo announced a surprising decision to everyone: she was going to acknowledge Xu Zhushan and their nanny as her foster parents.