I was tricked

Xiao Luo averted her gaze as she examined the vast courtyard. She shrugged her tiny shoulders as she spoke, ''Madam Xiao asked me to address her as mother. That makes me her daughter. As a daughter, I know how to be filial. Even if I don't know, I will learn. Don't worry.''

Nanny Qin's face turned ashen when she heard those innocent words. On one hand, it sounded like she was an obedient little child but on the other hand she was speaking such poisonous words to establish her authority by mentioning that she was taken in as Madam Xiao's adopted daughter, not as a servant who was supposed to serve her.

Nanny Qin felt like the Madam made a rash judgement and fell for this girl's docile look. More so, she should not have brought her in as a daughter but a servant so it should be easier to tame her.

Because if she had to be the daughter of the Xiao family, even an adopted daughter, Nanny Qin did not have the authority to do anything to her. Xiao Luo tilted her head to look at her and when she saw the look on Nanny Qin's twisted gaze, she lowered her gaze. Not a hint of happiness or victory was seen in those dark orbs.

The hand that reached for her amidst the darkness she was shrouded in... Xiao Luo would never bite it. But for the others, she would not let herself be wronged in the slightest.

A mother. She had never known what it was like to have mother. Such warmth of it seemed to be bringing forward a burst of happiness and excitement from deep inside her.

Xiao Luo was assigned to a smaller courtyard amongst all other lavish courtyards in the Prime Minister's manor but although it was small, it was not ugly. For Xiao Luo who grew up in a hut with her grandmother, being beaten and cornered at every juncture, and then wandered in the streets without a roof above her head, nothing was out of place.

Xiao Luo and the little black dog stayed within the courtyard, following Nanny Qin's 'kind instructions', never once stopping out. A month had passed just like that. A few servants would serve the three times meals accordingly and Xiao Luo did not see it as a necessity to go out or see the flowers.

Especially when she had another concern right now.

Soon after they came to the Prime Minister's manor, the little black dog kept slipping in and out of consciousness and Xiao Luo did not know if she was seeing things but the dog's size seemed to be shrinking bit by bit. And it was also shedding it's black fur gradually. It went on for days till Xiao Luo was confused by his condition initially but gradually, her confusion turned into worry.

On this particular day, Xiao Luo was sunbathing the little black dog as she sat near the windowsill while carrying it carefully in her arms.

Parts of its body exposed tender pink flesh. Without the protection of it's black fur, Xiao Luo did not dare to touch it recklessly.

'Woof'

It made weak sounds as it's body shivered.

Xiao Luo lowered her head to gaze at him.

As another bunch of it's fur landed in her palms, she stiffened and softly shifted it's small body to clean the fur aside. Beneath it's underbelly, there was another patch of exposed pink flesh.

By that time, it should not have been a rare sight for Xiao Luo but there was something that made her eyes widen slightly.

On the exposed pink flesh, there were stretches of scars upon it. Upon a closer look, they looked like that of whip lashes.

Xiao Luo pushed herself to her feet as she walked towards the bed, ''We cannot let this continue.''

The little black dog looked at her weakly as it stretched one of it's paw as a sign of protest but then it's head nodded off to the side when it lost consciousness.

Xiao Luo placed it on the bed and pulled the sheets to cover it's body.

Since Blackie's condition was so strange and given how strongly he resisted letting it be known to others, Xiao Luo had held back for so long after noticing his condition.

But it could not go on for long. Although he did not seem to have any external or internal wounds, his body was weakening. And he needed elixirs to maintain his strength.

Moreover, his body was somewhat shrinking in size and Xiao Luo was clueless about its cause. Since it was such a bizarre incident, she had held back from spreading it in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Although she trusted Madam Xiao, her trust was limited to only her and nobody else.

But given the current circumstances, Xiao Luo knew that it was vital to stabilize Blackie's condition first.

''Where can I find Mother?" Xiao Luo asked the two men who were guarding her courtyard.

The guards exchanged a glance before looking at her. During this time, almost everyone in the Prime Minister's Manor was aware of the addition of a new Young Miss in their family. Most of them did not know about what transpired in the streets that day.

Some believed that Xiao Luo was a long-lost daughter of Master Xiao and Madam Xiao, while some believed that she must be an illegitimate daughter of Master Xiao. Only a few smart and older servants had keen eyes to perceive that Xiao Luo might just be an adopted daughter given that she did not resemble the Prime Minister or his wife and concubines in the slightest.