Shi Lan glanced at the overflowing box, grinned, and drank the medicine. Her cute little face immediately scrunched up into a bitter expression.
"Hurry up and eat a plum to calm your nerves," Shi Xi picked up a candied plum and stuffed it into her mouth. Shi Lan squinted her eyes and happily savored the taste.
Seeing Shi Lan's carefree and oblivious appearance, Shi Xi shook her head with a smile.
Shi Lan turned to look at her, recalling the scene of her impoverished marriage to a distant land, and asked, "Sister, how is that person?"
Shi Xi's smile faded slightly, and she said, avoiding the main point, "The doctor has already examined me and said there's nothing serious."
Shi Lan nodded and spat out the plum pit.
Shi Xi picked up an apricot sprinkled with icing sugar and brought it to Shi Lan's lips.
Shi Lan looked up at Shi Xi with a bright smile, put the apricot in her mouth, and thought that Shi Xi was really good to this younger sister.
"Sister, who is that person? What's he doing in our garden?" Shi Lan asked vaguely, biting into a piece of fruit.
Shi Xi frowned slightly and said calmly, "That's Shi Yi. She always lives in the side courtyard and doesn't usually come out."
Shi Lan nodded, seemingly confused.
Mentioning Shi Yi reminded Shi Xi of her father's arrangements yesterday, and she couldn't help but feel unhappy.
Shi Lan puffed out her cheeks as she looked down and picked through the various candied fruits in the box, eating with great relish.
Shi Xi moved the food box to the side and said, "Don't eat anymore, you'll get indigestion later."
Cui Zhi quickly closed the lid and put it away. Shi Lan looked at it reluctantly and smacked her lips.
As the sun began to set, Shi Xi accompanied Shi Lan for a light meal of porridge and rice, gave Cui Zhi a few more instructions, and then left with her maid.
As night fell, Shi Lan nestled in the soft quilt, gazing at the sheer curtains, thinking of Shi Yi.
To be honest, Shi Yi was a pitiful person. Her birth mother died after giving birth to her, her father disliked her, her mother abandoned her in a side courtyard to avoid seeing or bothering her, and Shi Rong and Shi Xi ignored her for various reasons. She was truly a person unloved by both parents. In truth, the Shi family was indeed unfair to her, but no matter how unfair it was, they did one thing very well: no one in the Shi family bullied or tormented her because of it. Shi Yi never lacked food or drink from childhood to adulthood, and she never lacked a single piece of clothing. All they could do was ignore her and disregard her; ultimately, they never harmed a single hair on her head.
In contrast, Shi Yi not only ruined Shi Xi's marriage, but also caused the Shi family to become enemies with Marquis Dingyuan. Then, she betrayed the Yu Kingdom, ruthlessly murdered the prince who had feelings for her, leading Marquis Dingyuan to file a complaint, resulting in the extinction of the entire Shi family except for Shi Xi, who was forced to marry far away. A woman who has lost her family and married far away, even if she were still alive, would probably not be in a good place. She would either live a life of depression or die young; the only difference would be that she had one more breath.
Resentment spread silently in her heart. Shi Lan clutched her chest and let out a long breath.
She is also a member of the Shi family, and she shares the same blood as Shi's father. Does she think she's happy to see this outcome?
The next morning, after dealing with her mother and Shi Xi who came to visit early in the morning, Shi Lan took Cui Zhi and a box of pastries to the side courtyard while the sun was still low.
The Shi family mansion was not large. The side courtyard was only separated from the courtyard where Shi Lan and the others lived by a garden. However, the side courtyard was somewhat deserted, and the servants who usually tidied the courtyard usually ignored it and did not pass by it often.
After walking for a while, Shi Lan's face turned rosy. She held Cui Zhi tightly with her little hands and struggled to step over the tall weeds that were higher than her knees with her short legs. "Does Shi Yi live here?"
"Yes, Miss, the Second Miss is right here." Cui Zhi carefully supported the swaying Shi Lan, looking at the dilapidated surroundings with disdain.
A gentle breeze stirred, and Shi Lan squinted, clutching a strand of hair that brushed against her face, as she surveyed the somewhat dilapidated courtyard.
Cuizhi stepped forward and patted the closed door, calling out, "Is anyone inside?"
The words had barely left her lips when the curtain was lifted, and a pretty young maidservant hurried over, calling out before even opening the door, "Who is it?"
The young maid spoke very casually, lacking any of the etiquette expected of a maid from a wealthy household.
Cuizhi frowned, suppressing the urge to scold, and said through the door in as gentle a tone as possible, "Third Miss has come to visit Second Miss."
Upon hearing this, the maidservant hurriedly opened the door and bowed respectfully, saying, "This servant did not know that the Third Miss was coming. Please forgive me, Third Miss."
Shi Lan glanced at the young maid and saw that she was not very old, about the same age as the others in her own courtyard. She guessed that she had been selected to enter the mansion at the same time as the others. She waved her hand and walked inside on her own.
The little maid glanced at Shi Lan nervously, then suddenly quickened her pace and said, "This servant will go and report first." Without waiting for Shi Lan's approval, she took off running inside.
Shi Lan squinted and remained silent, a cryptic light flashing in her eyes.
Cuizhi watched the little maid's retreating figure, snorted in dissatisfaction, and said, "This Cherry is too unruly. If she were in our courtyard, she would have been sold off long ago."
Shi Lan glanced at Cui Zhi, pursed her lips, and thought to herself, "Perhaps this is exactly what Shi's mother wanted to see."
Cuizhi helped Shilan slowly walk into the house.
At the round table in the hall, Shi Yi, with her slightly thin figure and aloof expression, coldly looked at Shi Lan. Before Shi Lan could bow, she parted her thin lips and said indifferently, "Third sister, what brings you here?"
Shi Yi's eyes were sharp, and there was a hint of murderous intent between her brows. Shi Lan felt a chill in her heart. She had seen this kind of murderous intent in Zhu Boyan and Liu Hanchi before. This was definitely not something that Shi Yi, who was so frightened that she turned and ran away when she saw the original owner, could possess.
It seems that this body has also been replaced by a different soul. Although it is unknown what this soul did before, one thing is certain: she has seen blood and killed people. Although her killing intent is faint, who is Shi Lan? How could she not see through it?
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