In the capital city, at Minister Lin's residence, the atmosphere was strangely oppressive.

The story begins with the day Lin's mother encountered the old woman who delivered her baby. Since discovering that her own child had been switched at birth, the Lin family had publicly stated that a second daughter had gone missing, but many people in the family knew that the second daughter was the real daughter who had been switched with the eldest son.

In the east room, Lin's mother watched her youngest daughter storming in.

After giving birth to her first child, she had twins two years later. Perhaps because the twins were prone to crying and fussing, she always favored one of them.

"What's wrong? Who made my Yu'er angry?" Lin's mother looked at her youngest daughter with affection and gentle eyes.

The pretty girl in the pale yellow dress pouted angrily and snuggled into Madam Lin's arms, muttering, "Mother, when I went to the He family's banquet, He Qingya actually mocked me for having a village girl sister, saying that my presence at the banquet made me look bad because I was the village girl's sister..."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin's face turned cold.

Even if she herself dislikes the daughter who was switched at birth, it's not up to outsiders to belittle her.

"Alright, my Yu'er, don't be angry. Getting angry will harm your health. Those people are just envious of your good birth. My dear, I have a set of jewelry made of your favorite rubies. Shall we take it back to Yu'er later?"

"Really?" Lin Wanyu's eyes lit up. She liked rubies, but natural rubies were rare. Where could she find raw materials to make a whole set of jewelry?

"Of course, let Yu'er wear it later so Mother can see how beautiful our Yu'er is, okay?"

Lin Wanyu blushed, but her mood brightened again once her attention was diverted.

Seeing that her youngest daughter had been coaxed, Mrs. Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief, but what her daughter had just said had left an impression on her.

Madam Lin, who had been a noble lady in the capital since childhood, had never experienced any embarrassment. This time, however, one of the girls was a village girl's daughter. Even though she knew that it wasn't her daughter who had been switched at birth that was at fault, Madam Lin still couldn't help but feel displeasure towards the girl who hadn't even arrived in the capital yet.

Especially the news brought back by the people sent to find the eldest daughter.

That real heiress was not only from a village background, but she also married a farmer who was conscripted and died on the frontier. This meant that the real heiress not only had a low social status, but also became a widow.

Upon hearing this news, not only did Madam Lin, who already disliked her, frown, but even Mr. Lin frowned deeply.

Originally, Lin's father thought that having an older daughter, even if her appearance might not be good due to the hardships of life in the countryside, was still something he could raise well and use to arrange a marriage for some benefit. But now it seems that his older daughter has become a widow, and which noble young man in the capital would accept her? She might even have difficulty getting married. Thinking about it this way, he realized that his older daughter could not bring him any benefit at all.

Lin's father's expression turned cold.

Lin Nanxu, sitting upright to the side, remained indifferent, listening to the news about the real daughter who had been switched at birth with him, without showing the slightest change in expression.

In his heart, however, Lin Nanxu had already given that real heiress a definite ending.

This woman, who was born on the same day as him, was indeed unlucky. Her life was predictable; she was disliked by her biological parents and shunned because of her status as a widow. It was highly likely that she would be married off by Lin's father in the next few days.

Lin Nanxu thought to himself leisurely, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

He remained composed and gentlemanly.

People can't help but admire the outstanding qualities and composure of this eldest son who was raised in the Lin family.

Looking at the composed and handsome young man beside him, Lin's father secretly nodded in satisfaction. Exchanging an eldest daughter for such an outstanding eldest son was indeed a satisfactory outcome.

Meanwhile, Qingyin, after traveling for dozens of days, finally arrived in the capital.

Having witnessed firsthand how the frail young lady's condition improved day by day over the past ten days, Granny Wang also let go of her contempt.

This young lady truly lives up to her reputation as the master and mistress's daughter. Even though she is still frail and thin, she is quick to grasp things and very intelligent. If this young lady can recover her health, with her abilities and personality, she might not necessarily do badly in the future.

Thinking about it, Granny Wang became even more respectful to Qingyin.

"Miss, as instructed by Madam and Master, you've been assigned the position of Second Miss. That... is your eldest brother—Lin Nanxu. Besides you and your other siblings, Madam and Master have twins, a boy and a girl. The Third Miss is Lin Wanyu, and the Fourth Young Master is Lin Yanwei. The rest are the children of the concubines. The only thing you need to be careful about is that the favored Concubine Xiang and Madam have always been at odds, and she has also given birth to two sons. The Second Young Master is playful, while the Third Young Master is different. He is not only good at studying but also intelligent and polite. However, no matter how good the Third Young Master is, he can't compare to the Eldest Young Master..."

Granny Wang spoke proudly, but Qingyin didn't respond. She suddenly remembered that this young master was the reason why the real young lady had swapped lives. Thinking of the suffering the real young lady had endured, Granny Wang's face fell. Why did she have to talk about the young master in front of this person? Wasn't she just stabbing the real young lady in the heart?

Granny Wang's face paled, and she cautiously glanced at Qingyin, just as Qingyin was engrossed in listening to her private words and thus missed Granny Wang's anxious gaze.

Granny Wang's words revealed quite a lot. Not to mention the twins, which we already knew about, there was also the fact that Concubine Xiang and Lin's mother were not on good terms.

It's likely that if it weren't for her capable half-brother, her biological mother would have already lost the battle.

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