I broke my hand, and she panicked a little. When she heard my parents' voices coming from afar, she guiltily pulled me behind the rockery to hide.
I thought it was her birthday that day, and the wound wasn't too big, so I didn't want to hold it against her.
Besides, she invited many daughters of officials, and if things got out of hand, there might be rumors of discord among the sisters, which would also be a disgrace to the Zuo family, so I kept quiet.
Unexpectedly, her parents discussed her background the whole way. Her father complained that her mother spoiled her too much, and that her birthday celebrations became more and more extravagant each year. Her mother only said that she used her own dowry to make up for the expenses, and that she did not use the family's accounts.
As they talked, the father sighed and said that the mother shouldn't put the guilt she felt for that child onto Zuo Qingzhi.
Dad also said that Mom is almost obsessed now. There are several children in the family, three of whom are her own, but she clearly favors this child who was adopted from the clan. This is unfair to the lost child and also unfair to the other children in the family.
We were both stunned when we heard our parents talking. Even after they had walked away, we stood there dumbfounded for a long time before we came to our senses.
I was shocked too. My first words were, "So you're not your parents' biological daughter." Upon hearing this, she ran away crying. I could tell she was genuinely upset that time, unlike her usual fake crying and pitiful act in front of her mother.
Seeing that the pastries in the kiln were almost ready, Xiao Yunying used tongs to pull the plate out and place it on the table next to her: "Didn't you tell your parents about overhearing about her background?"
Zuo Qingzhi pouted and said, "I initially wanted to ask Mother, but then I suddenly remembered the time I complained that Mother was biased, and she cried for a very long time."
While I was hesitating, Zuo Qingzhi came to me again, crying as she said some things to me, telling me not to ask, because if I revealed the truth, she was afraid she really wouldn't be able to be her parents' daughter anymore.
Seeing how pitifully she was crying, and how she kept saying she couldn't bear to leave her mother, I softened and agreed.
Xiao Yunying smiled slightly at her: "You are kind-hearted, but this is good too. It means we have her weakness, so she shouldn't bully you anymore."
As for Zuo Lanzhi's claims about not wanting to leave her parents, Xiao Yunying didn't believe a word of them.
Given her personality, it would be more believable if she simply said she couldn't bear to give up her status as the legitimate daughter of the Minister's family.
Zuo Qingzhi roughly guessed what Xiao Yunying was thinking and explained, "I just didn't want Mother to be sad. After I learned about this, I thought about what Mother said before, that she was sorry to Eldest Sister. I think Father is right. Mother was a little obsessed because she lost Eldest Sister, and she made up for all her guilt towards Eldest Sister by putting Zuo Lanzhi on her shoulders."
I secretly asked a doctor, and he said this kind of thing is a psychological issue and I can't be stimulated, otherwise I might develop dissociative identity disorder or hysteria. That's why I chose to pretend I didn't know.
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