Chapter 4 Family Members_1

In fact, Wei Ruo felt that although the original host had acted recklessly, she wasn't wrong. The ten years she was abandoned by the He Family in the countryside were very bitter — no money, no food to satiate her hunger, no warm clothes to wear. There was no one to educate or accompany her; the pain and resentment she felt were things others could not understand.

Also, seeing someone else taking her place and living a good life, wouldn't her anger be justified?

However, Wei Ruo's current thinking was that, as long as the female lead didn't provoke her, she wouldn't purposely go to find trouble with her.

One of the survival codes for a female support character: Don't compete with the female lead for the male lead, or for affection.

As a result, Wei Ruo said to Wei Qingwan, who was kneeling before her, "You don't need to kneel to me. I'm not a deity in a temple who needs others to kneel! It does me no good when you kneel — nor does it do you any good. I can't fulfil your wishes. When we hold temple fairs in the countryside, everyone hurries to kneel and make wishes to the deities."

"But I owe you, sister. Although I can't change the past, at least it can lessen the feelings of guilt in my heart."

"If you think you owe me something, then. Shouldn't you repay me instead of trying to reduce your feelings of guilt?" Wei Ruo rebutted.

At these words, Wei Qingwan was taken aback.

Madame Yun and Wei Yichen were also surprised; indeed, what Qingwan was doing did not provide any real help to Wei Ruo.

Although both Madame Yun and Wei Yichen believed that Qingwan didn't need to blame herself and feel sad, from Wei Ruo's perspective, Qingwan's actions were indeed troubling her.

Wei Qingwan, after pondering for a while, asked Wei Ruo, "So what do you want me to do to make amends? As long as you ask, I am willing to do it."

Wei Ruo said, "First of all, stand up. If people didn't know, they'd think I was bullying you."

Wei Ruo wanted to clear herself first. Kneeling was something Wei Qingwan did on her own. If Qingwan felt wronged later on, Wei Ruo didn't want to bear the blame and lose out!

Wei Yichen then stepped forward to help Wei Qingwan up.

Wei Qingwan slowly got up, gently lifted her head, looked at Wei Ruo, and asked softly, "What else do you want to instruct, sister?"

Wei Ruo: "Don't rush; there's plenty of time. I just got here, and I am still not familiar with everything. You started calling me 'sister' right away, but I don't even know who you are, and what you owe me."

At these words, Wei Qingwan was taken aback again.

"Right, right. Let's take it slow." Madame Yun wiped her tears, adjusted her emotions, and said to Wei Ruo, "Ruo, let me introduce you to your brothers and sisters."

"Your father isn't here today. He also really wants to see you, but currently, the Japanese Pirates are rampant and constantly causing issues outside of the city, so your father is really tied up."

Xingshan County is near the sea, and there have been frequent invasions by Japanese Pirates recently. As the martial officer here, Wei Mingting has been very busy.

This matters more than other affairs because it concerns the safety of the people in the city. Wei Mingting should lead by example, sacrificing his personal matters for the greater good. Even if his biological daughter has just arrived home, he cannot take leave.

Then Madame Yun introduced: "This is your eldest brother, Wei Yichen. In the Capital City, he is ranked third in the family; while we are here, you call him 'big brother.'

The man beside her, warm and gentle like jade, showed Wei Ruo a warm smile: "Little sister, if you have any issues in the future, you can share them with me."

Wei Ruo nodded.

Then Madame Yun turned toward the boy sitting on a chair beside her: "This is your younger brother, named Yilin, who is seven years old this year. In the house in the Capital City, he is the youngest and holds the eighth rank."

The named Wei Yilin pouted slightly, with a cold face, appearing to be not very willing to greet Wei Ruo.

Only when Madame Yun glared at him sternly did he reluctantly call out to Wei Ruo: "Sister."

Right after he called her, he immediately turned his head to one side and stopped looking at Wei Ruo.

Madame Yun continued: "You have another elder brother named Jinyi, who was born from a concubine. He doesn't go out much and is currently in his own courtyard."

Madame Yun didn't very much like to mention this child born out of wedlock. She had always had a good relationship with her husband, Wei Mingting. During their years of marriage, he never took another concubine. However, this particular son was a thorn in Madame Yun's side.

Then, Madame Yun turned to look at Wei Qingwan.

At this moment, she hesitated for a moment. If she ignored Qingwan and did not introduce her formally, Qingwan would definitely feel upset. After all, she had once said that even though Qingwan wasn't her biological child, she still considered her as a daughter of the Wei Family. As a daughter of the Wei Family, there should not be any reason not to introduce her, right?

Yet, if she were to introduce Qingwan, thereby implying that Qingwan would continue staying in the Wei family, she was afraid that Wei Ruo, who had just arrived home, might feel uncomfortable.

After much hesitation, Madame Yun chose to say to Wei Ruo: "This is Qingwan, she is... the one who switched identities with you... your maids Zhang and Li probably told you about it during the journey here. I have discussed this with the He Family, from now on you both will remain here with me, you both are the young misses of our Wei Family."

At this point, Madame Yun looked at Wei Ruo with a worried expression.

"Mm-hm," Wei Ruo said, her response lackluster.

Perhaps it was too lackluster, it raised a few eyebrows among the crowd.

Wei Yichen immediately said: "Mother, my sister has been traveling on the road for three days, she must be tired. We should let her rest first."

"Yes, yes, let's show her to her room to rest," Madame Yun quickly agreed.

Then she took Wei Ruo by the hand and led her towards her courtyard.

The Military Prefecture was not very large; there were only six courtyards in total in the backyard.

Normally, five of the courtyards were occupied, and only the smallest and most secluded one was left vacant.

Wei Yichen had offered his own courtyard to Wei Ruo voluntarily and decided to move to the secluded courtyard himself since he liked the quiet for studying.

So Wei Ruo was shown to the courtyard that was previously Wei Yichen's.

The sign at the entrance of the courtyard reads "Tingsong Garden". It was named by Wei Yichen, and the sign had not been replaced yet.

The courtyard was bright and spacious, with cypress trees going along with Wei Yichen's preferences, exuding a refined elegance.

Madame Yun led Wei Ruo into the room. Even though the time had been short, the room had been arranged according to a girl's preferences.

Several new dresses had been placed in the wardrobe.

Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan had similar body types, as neither had fully grown at thirteen years old. A few of the dresses had been grabbed and kept there for Wei Ruo's use.

Madame Yun gave Wei Ruo several instructions before leaving the room, asking her to rest first, and promising to fetch her at dinnertime.

After Madame Yun left, Xiumei moved Wei Ruo's personal items into the room. The rest of Wei Ruo's belongings had been brought into Tingsong Garden by the servants and would be hung up and put away the next day.

Looking at the furnishings in the room, Xiumei couldn't help but sigh: "If the young lady hadn't been switched at birth, she would have been living in such an environment her whole life."

Comparing the Military Prefecture with the He Family's remote estate, it was a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

Furthermore, comparing the attitudes of the He Family's parents and Madame Yun towards Wei Ruo, Xiumei felt a sense of injustice for Wei Ruo.

With no one else around, Wei Ruo immediately sprawled across the bed and quickly fell asleep, no regard for appearances.

Out in public, Wei Ruo was poised and elegant. But at home, she preferred to be relaxed and unbothered.