The weather was getting colder and colder, and Nan Yi stayed indoors, not wanting to go anywhere, not even climbing over the wall of the Eighth and Ninth Princes.

Occasionally, when Xiao Xi wasn't on duty, he would come to visit her.

Less than two months after his lover married into the Xiao family, she became pregnant. After Xiao Xi told her the good news, Nan Yi and Qingyun Yiren discussed preparing some gifts for the baby's birth.

Xiao Shunzi came to report that the lady had come to the mansion to see the master. Nan Yi was stunned when he heard the word "lady". Yiren reminded him from the side, "Master, it is the eldest lady of the Tong family, your mother. This is the first time that someone from your maternal family has come to visit you."

"Oh, please come in quickly." Nan Yi panicked for a moment. Since transmigrating here, she had been trying to avoid things as much as possible. She didn't expect that what was bound to happen would finally come.

"Qingyun, help me tidy up. Is this appropriate?" In her own yard, she was always used to being lazy, and dressed very casually, doing whatever made her comfortable.

The maids couldn't persuade her, and even the Fourth Master let her have her way. He would occasionally bring it up, but Nan Yi always had a whole bunch of reasons to refute her, and in the end, nothing ever came of it.

“It’s all right, Master. There’s no need to be nervous. Madam is no outsider,” Qingyun reassured her.

"Of course we're nervous! Our mistress hasn't seen her family for three years. It's good that she's here. Madam never really valued our mistress back home. This time, let her see that our mistress isn't some second or third young lady. Our mistress is doing just fine." Yiren said smugly.

Upon hearing this, Nan Yi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Judging from your tone, are the Second and Third Misses not doing well?"

Yiren served tea to Nan Yi, then pouted and said, "What's so good about it? I've already inquired. Your two most favored sisters from your family, the second young lady, married the son-in-law that your father carefully selected. I heard that he works under your father."

The second young lady fared quite well in her first year. However, after taking a concubine in the household, her life deteriorated day by day. She was constantly overshadowed by the concubine, and the concubine had given birth to a son, while the second young lady had only given birth to a princess. The concubine's status rose because of her son, and recently it was rumored that the concubine was pregnant again.

Nan Yi clicked her tongue in amazement, "How do you know so much?"

"I inquired about it myself. I keep an eye on anything related to you, Master," Yiren said matter-of-factly.

"And then there's the Third Miss, whose life is even more miserable. Her son-in-law is a dutiful son, always obedient to his mother and easily swayed. The matriarch of the household has a lot of power over her son, and that old woman has given him a whole bunch of concubines and maids in order to win him over. The Third Miss is an impatient person, so how can she outmaneuver those people with ulterior motives? So, there's no limit to how miserable she can get."

Nan felt terrible after hearing this. Even though they had some dirty secrets in the past, they were still sisters, blood relatives. It was nothing for them to quarrel in their own family, but how could they let outsiders bully them?

She wondered if she should lend a hand. With the reputation of the Fourth Master as a cold-faced and ruthless figure, those two shouldn't go too far.

Yiren could tell from her expression that her mistress had softened. "Mistress, you don't want to help, do you? Please don't. I heard from Granny Qiu that the Second and Third Misses were born to a concubine and bullied you a lot when they were young."

Nan waved her hand. She was the legitimate daughter. No matter how much she was bullied, how far could she go? Tong Yilan might not be favored, but judging from the dowry prepared by her family, all the items were carefully selected without any ambiguity.

Even more precious was the hidden treasure of 30,000 taels of silver, which, according to Yiren, was an amount that even the eldest daughter of a high-ranking official might not have received as dowry.

Besides, Tong's father was only a minor official of the sixth rank.

It's clear that Tong's parents put their heart into it.

Tong's mother entered, followed by a woman whose attire was similar to Tong's. Tong's mother's expression was not good, but she was still slightly excited when she saw Nan Yi.

"This humble servant greets Consort Sifu?" The two women bowed.

Nan Yi quickly went to help her up, blurting out, "Mother, what are you doing? There's no way a mother would bow to her daughter."

The words surprised her slightly.

Unaware of her unusual behavior, Tong's mother stood up, took Nan Yi's hand, and carefully examined her, her eyes reddening.

Nan Yi felt a little embarrassed by the gaze and said, "Mother, please sit down."

She pulled Tong's mother to sit down, while Yiren invited a woman behind her to sit below Tong's mother.

"Qingyun, serve tea."

After sitting down, Tong's mother secretly observed everything in the room. She noticed that her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for several years, had a rosy complexion and looked very healthy; her face was so tender it seemed like it could be pinched to release moisture.

Everything shows that the Fourth Master treated her extremely well.

Her daughter seemed to be doing well and was quite pampered, which put her mind at ease.

Mother Tong held Nan Yi's hand tightly, her voice trembling as she said repeatedly, "Good, good, my son is a blessed man. When I heard that you went to another courtyard, I was so scared. Your father specially asked Lord Tong to intercede for you. Later, when I learned that you had moved back to the mansion, I was finally relieved. My little boy, you were so soft-hearted at your mother's house. No matter how much your father tried to persuade your two older sisters, you were just not up to par and could never stand up for yourself. It worried your father and mother to no end. I never thought that your soft-hearted nature would suit the Fourth Prince's wishes. It seems that fate has its own arrangements."

Upon hearing this, Nan Yi's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Yi Ren, who was also quite surprised. She never expected that there was another reason behind her being out of favor.

Tong's mother was an experienced woman; she had seen more than Nan Yi had ever eaten rice, so she knew exactly what Nan Yi was thinking.

Besides, her thoughts were written all over her face; her expression said it all.

Tong's mother was an experienced woman; she came from a prominent family and had two sons and a daughter. As the only legitimate daughter, she was not to be neglected. Daughters were precious in Manchu families, and this was especially true in the Tong family.

"You're just too slow-witted, all talk and no action. You never think about how the family has been emptied of their savings for you. After you were betrothed to Fourth Master, your father's hair turned white with worry, fearing that you... Never mind, never mind. Why bring up these old stories? As long as you're doing well, that's all that matters."

Nan Yi felt a mix of emotions upon hearing Tong Yilan's mother's words, which revealed a deeper meaning. The hearts of parents are the same everywhere, and Tong Yilan's parents were no exception.

Unfortunately, she will never know.

“Mother, you know I’m stupid. Why didn’t you just say so? It made me depressed for so long. When I was little, Father and Mother loved me very much, but now that I’m older, they treat me coldly in every way. How could I not be sad?”

Even though she is the legitimate daughter, she kept her actions from Tong Yilan. A girl of thirteen or fourteen is simple-minded and would hardly understand.

"How could your mother know? My son was clever and adorable when he was little, but he turned out to be quite silly as he grew up. Luckily, sometimes fools are just lucky," Tong's mother said with a sigh and a smile.

Her two older sisters are quite clever, unlike her simple-minded self. They both got married, but how come their lives turned out the way they did?

Fate plays tricks on people.

“Last time it was Mother’s birthday, my son brought back a generous gift. Your father was so happy that he drank with your two older brothers all night long, saying that his son had grown up.”

Tong's mother thought her daughter had grown up, become sensible, and understood things, which was why she made a special trip to visit her. Little did she know that it was just her daughter, whose soul had been replaced, sending such a generous gift out of remorse.

Nan Yi sighed inwardly, feeling ashamed for her predecessor, never expecting to make such a blunder.