A girl with the same features as the second young lady, whose bright and lively temperament was completely different, was much more slender, with skin as pale as crystal, and a thin waist. With her maid supporting her, she was like a crystal rose floating on someone else.
Fragile yet beautiful.
Bai Zhenzhu never imagined that her bright and beautiful face would show such a vulnerable expression on another person, as if a gust of wind could melt her snow-white stranger.
Compared to her, she seemed more like her older sister than her younger sister.
Bai Mojin's mouth dropped open; he knew he had mistaken the person for someone else.
Bai Mojin had imagined what his eldest daughter would look like. Perhaps she would have a sickly, pale face, but even though she was pale, she was not ugly at all. Her delicate and frail appearance did not detract from her beauty. On the contrary, she had a more attractive quality than Bai Zhenzhu. Compared to Bai Zhenzhu, his eldest daughter was more like a noble lady from a wealthy family with a noble air.
Such fragile beauty meant that even after Bai's father had just made a fool of himself and been criticized, he couldn't utter a single word of reprimand towards Qingyin.
With a flushed face, Mr. Bai forced a smile: "Ahem, it's good that you're back. Your mother missed you for a long time and specially tidied up your yard."
Qingyin leaned against Xiangling and gave a soft, weak bow: "Daughter thanks Father and Mother."
He is polite, but lacks intimacy.
She was at least not the kind of introverted, timid girl who craved love that Bai's father and mother had hoped for.
A sense of loss inexplicably settled over them.
"Mengyin," Bai's mother wanted to get closer to her eldest daughter, but Qingyin's polite yet unfamiliar gaze stopped her.
“Mengyin, this is your younger sister Bai Zhenzhu, and in the following years we had your younger brother, Bai Wangsheng.”
White Pearl gave a haughty snort: "Sister."
Bai Wangsheng was very polite. He walked up to her expectantly and sweetly greeted Qingyin, "Hello, big sister, you are so beautiful."
Qingyin was slightly surprised, and nodded gently yet distantly: "Hello."
Bai Wangsheng was a little disappointed, but he was still very happy to receive a response from his older sister.
Even though the eldest daughter's movements were flawless, everyone still felt a sense of frustration.
When Bai's father saw Qingyin's intimate actions with the maid he mistook for his eldest daughter, he realized that his eldest daughter was not close to them.
Calling them is like calling out to a familiar stranger.
"Fine, they're the ones who wronged her by leaving someone in the manor; she's still angry. 'Alright, let's talk back in the courtyard.'"
"Thank you for your understanding, Father," Qingyin replied softly.
Everyone watched as she, like a snow lotus perched on someone else, returned to her own courtyard and closed the door, being diligently cared for by the maid.
Everyone wanted to speak to her, but the door blocked them completely.
Mr. Bai said awkwardly, "This girl is really competitive."
"Never mind, I'll talk to her another day."
Bai's mother hesitated for a moment, wanting to continue talking to her eldest daughter, but then she remembered Qingyin's pale, lifeless face and went back.
She'll have plenty of time once she gets back to the manor; she can find another opportunity to talk about it.
On her first day back at the Marquis of Weining's residence, everyone learned that the eldest young lady was a rare, sickly beauty.
Qingyin fell ill in the early hours of the next day.
Actually, it's because the original owner's constitution was too weak. The long journey by carriage these past few days had damaged her body. Thanks to the effects of her health-strengthening pills and beauty pills, she only suffered a serious illness. After the fever subsided, she would feel much better than before.
But Xiangling didn't know that.
When her mistress had a fever, Xiangling, who still habitually touched her head in the middle of the night, noticed. Concerned about her mistress's condition, she hurriedly found the steward of the Marquis of Weining's residence and summoned a doctor.
...
Because Qingyin's burning came on so quickly and fiercely, the Marquis of Weining's eyes dimmed and then brightened again.
Mr. and Mrs. Bai rushed to Molan Pavilion.
They couldn't believe it; the girl who had been chatting with them so well during the day had suddenly become unwell.
The old doctor took her pulse, looked at the pale and beautiful girl who was ill, sighed, and gave a wink to the master of the mansion.
Mr. Bai's heart trembled.
Bai's mother stayed there to take care of Qingyin, while he went out with her.
"My lord, the young lady already has a heart condition. She may have been exhausted on the way, which has damaged her vital energy. With such a high fever, she may not be able to hold on."
The old doctor said regretfully.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Bai's body went limp and he almost collapsed to the ground, but fortunately, the servant beside him caught him.
"How is that possible? She just got back!"
He didn't even have a chance to properly make it up to his daughter.
In an instant, Bai's father's once energetic face collapsed, making him look several years older.
"Take good care of yourself; if it can be cured, then do so."
"Yes, Your Excellency." The old doctor understood the Marquis's feelings; after all, the sick girl was still so young and beautiful, and she was nearing the age of death.
It's true that beauty is often short-lived.
Bai's mother was unaware of what the doctor and her husband were saying outside; she stared intently at the pale, weak-breathing girl lying on the bed.
If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, she would have thought there was a dead person on the bed.
Looking at the face that resembled her youngest daughter's but was so fair it was almost translucent, Bai's mother's heart skipped a beat.
She couldn't help but reach out to touch the girl's wrist, which was covered by the blanket. She held Qingyin's hand, but it was pitifully light, and her wrist was twice as thin as the hand she usually held when she held her youngest daughter.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Bai's mother finally understood the suffering her eldest daughter had endured alone on the manor.
She was brought back, but it seemed she was about to leave again.
This time, Bai's mother couldn't help but cry out, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Yin'er."
Standing to the side, Xiangling, whose eyes were red, looked coldly at Bai's mother, but her eyes showed no emotion.
Hmph, this is all they owe Miss.
What parents who truly love their daughter would abandon her on the manor for over a decade? Xiangling despises them; their tears now are nothing but guilt and hypocrisy!
While unconscious, Qingyin suddenly felt an itch in her throat and coughed.
She coughed up a mouthful of blood. Perhaps it was from a stagnant lesion, because she felt much better after spitting it out, which frightened the people who were watching over her.
"Miss!"
"Yin'er!"
...
Qingyin closed her eyes and fell asleep again.
Bai's mother wanted to hug her, but Xiangling, who had taken care of Qingyin for many years, stopped her. Xiangling, who often accompanied her mistress, had some experience and knew that one should not move the mistress carelessly when she was vomiting blood.
Xiangling gently and carefully wiped away the bloodstains from her mistress's body before preparing to call the doctor outside.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
