After the Ghost Festival, the sky was as hot as a furnace, and it was so hot that people couldn't breathe. The trees with large green leaves seemed to be full of cicadas, and the cicadas' chirping made people feel restless for no reason.

There are several cannas planted next to the hanging flower gate. The red flowers are like gorgeous women, too beautiful to be noticed. However, no one is appreciating such gorgeous beauty now. Everyone's attention is more focused on the dozen or so pots of orchids in the summer hall. The orchids placed in front of the gauze window seem to permeate the whole house with a refreshing and light fragrance that calms the mind immediately.

At this time, little Jiang was sitting in the Baoxia Hall, smelling the fragrance of orchids and tasting Yunnan green tea, and her previous annoyance was swept away.

She was a very young woman, with a sleek bun on her head, and four large, round, shiny pearls pierced into her bun. She was born with a pair of peach blossom eyes, which were extremely bright, and her thin lips were slightly raised, as if she wanted to ask something, but in the end she didn't say anything.

After a while, a young woman came out from the inner room. She wore a silver hairpin on her hair and her clothes were plain, except for a pair of silver-plated earrings with kingfisher feathers and pearls on her ears, which added the finishing touch.

If young Jiang was as beautiful as a peach or plum, this woman was also quite pretty. Her eyelids drooped, and her almond-shaped eyes revealed tenderness, which was another kind of gentle beauty.

Seeing her come out, Xiao Jiang stood up and called out, "Auntie."

It turned out that the young woman was the eldest wife of Gaoping Luo's family, Yu. As she was the second wife, she was very young but of high generation. Yu smiled gently and said, "Thank you for coming to see Yao Niang. She is now well again."

Little Jiang knew that this aunt was a bit tacky and she usually looked down on her, but she felt sorry for her. Her good daughter was replaced by someone else. Other people's daughters lived a life of luxury in the Luo family, while her own daughter grew up in the countryside and was often scolded, beaten and abused. Fortunately, God had a good eye and now the daughter has returned to her original owner.

"Auntie, let me go in and see how Yao Niang is doing. The old ancestor is very worried." Little Jiang sighed slightly, looking very concerned.

Yu had no choice but to take her into the inner room, which was filled with huanghuali furniture. In the main room stood a large glass screen reflecting crabapple flowers. Behind the screen was an ebony couch, and next to the couch stood a Ge kiln vase with ice crack patterns.

Little Jiang looked at the girl on the ebony couch. She was dark, thin and lonely. She looked about six years old. She was resting with her eyes closed. When she got closer, she saw some white spots on her face, like cold sweat scars. She raised her eyes and looked at the begonia in the brother kiln vase. The short red flowers were dotted with small pompoms. They looked thin, lonely and pitiful.

This child is just like the begonia in the vase. Little Jiang is also a mother, and she cursed the Zhong family hundreds of times in her heart.

"Auntie, the Zhong family is really committing a sin. We can't let them off like this." Little Jiang was unhappy.

Yu knew that Jiang's father had been promoted to Zuodu Yushi and was very popular. It would be too easy for him to deal with a small county magistrate.

But Yu shook her head and said, "The woman from the Zhong family who exchanged the baby has already jumped into the lake. Mrs. Zhong also came to kowtow and apologize in person. Moreover, I have also asked other girls in the Zhong family, and they are the same. They were raised in the countryside, so it is not really harsh treatment."

If they treat them differently, we can still say that the Zhong family is wrong, but the Zhong family treats their daughter like this.

Little Jiang snorted coldly: "My aunt has a good temper. If she falls into my hands, hmph."

…

Yao Niang vaguely heard someone talking, then she slightly closed her eyes and suddenly sat up. She found that her stomach was empty, her heart was burning, and her hands and feet had become smaller.

What is going on?

The maidservant lying in front of the couch saw Yao Niang's eyes open and shouted in surprise, "Madam, Madam Fa, our girl is awake, our girl is awake."

Yu, who was talking to little Jiang, ran in quickly. When Yao Niang was confused, she felt someone holding her in someone's arms. When she looked up again, it was clearly her mother Yu.

Still a very young Yu...

…

At the gate of Luo's house in Gaoping stood five memorial archways for Jinshi degree holders. Anyone passing by had to dismount from their horse or sedan chair to show respect.

Today, two officials wearing Yuanbao shirts were riding horses in front of this memorial archway. They dismounted voluntarily, and one of them asked, "Whose family is this? Why are there so many Jinshi memorial archways?"

Another person laughed and said, "Brother, you came to Gaoping from another place, and you don't know the Luo family, the most prestigious family in our area. The Luo family became rich when their great-grandfather Luo Xian was the chief priest of the Imperial Academy. He had two sons. The eldest son, Luo Shizhao, won the first place in the imperial examination and served as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice in Nanjing before retiring. The second son, Luo Shizhao, won the second place in the imperial examination and served as the Minister of Public Security before retiring. Now both brothers have passed away."

"Because the eldest son Luo Shizhao has only one son, Luo Zhizheng, who passed the imperial examination in the 23rd year of the Wanjia reign. Luo Shizhao has two sons. The eldest son is Yinsheng, and the second son passed the imperial examination in the 33rd year of the Wanjia reign. He is now the chief historian of the Hengwang Palace. Mr. Wang, please count, are these five plaques of the imperial examination?"

Wang Yuanwai was envious: "So this is his family, the house is really full of scholars."

Mr. Li shook his head, "That may not be the case. I heard that the eldest son of the eldest son has three sons. The eldest son is the daughter of the late first wife, the Marquis of Yanping, Ms. Wang. He was not very good at studying and now he has started a family, but he is at home taking care of family affairs. The second son is said to be okay, but he is born out of wedlock. The youngest son is the son of the current step-wife, Ms. Yu. He is still young and it is hard to tell whether he is good or bad. However, the Luo family is observing mourning at home, and a strange thing happened."

Wang Yuanwai was interested and asked, "I wonder what this strange thing is?"

Li Yuanwai said, "This is all from the beginning. After passing the imperial examination, Zhengda Laoye became a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. After the academy was dismissed, he was assigned to the Ministry of Revenue to observe government affairs. Later, he became the chief official. Because he supported the eldest prince in the matter of building a crown prince, he was demoted to be the county magistrate of Minzhong. It just so happened that the first wife, Yu, was pregnant. Coincidentally, the wife of the county magistrate of Min County was also pregnant. Fujian has always had Japanese invasions. This Luo Da When Madam Luo and Madam Zhong were about to give birth, the Japanese invaded and both of them were sent to the mountains. In the panic, the children of the two families were taken away by mistake. Fortunately, the woman who had taken away the wrong child for the Zhong family was reported to the government because she told the truth after drinking. The person who tried the case was a disciple of Master Zhengda. In this way, the children were returned to their original owners. The girl of the Luo family returned to the Luo family, and the girl of the Zhong family returned to the Zhong family.

Mr. Wang sighed: "The Luo family is a famous official family, which is certainly incomparable to the Zhong family. Now that the property has returned to its original owner, it is also a good thing." You must know that the eldest master of the Luo family was a Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites before the mourning period. After the mourning period, I am afraid he will have to move up. Zhong County was born as a clerk, so it is difficult for him to become a county magistrate.

Since the woman who swapped the two families' daughters had already committed suicide, the Luo family could not blame the Zhong family.

Although Yao Niang was reborn at the age of six, she was no longer the real six-year-old girl in her previous life, the one who could not understand Gaoping dialect, Mandarin, and was taciturn and unable to express herself.

After she called her "mother", Yu became a little closer to her.

Although Yu was a dull person, when many people suggested raising the daughter of the Zhong family, this good-natured person was determined to only exchange for her own daughter and not raise the daughter of the Zhong family.

In the past, when Yao Niang grew up, she also felt that Yu was too weak, but it was this weak person who truly cared about her.

There were several kinds of porridge and side dishes on the table. When Yu saw that Yao Niang couldn't help but look at her, she couldn't help but smile and personally served Yao Niang a bowl of longevity porridge. This longevity porridge was a health-preserving porridge made from peanuts, glutinous rice and rice, and it was the best for people like Yao Niang who were not in good health.

"Thank you, mother." Yao Niang ate her porridge slowly.

Yu was very happy and said, "You're welcome. This is what I should do. Can you speak Mandarin?" She breathed a sigh of relief because the child didn't understand anything when he was first sent back.

Yao Niang nodded: "I can understand a little." She knew that after she was reborn, she did not dare to reveal herself. She would be able to understand Mandarin quickly, and it would be bad if people suspected her of being a monster.

Yu was just about to say something when a little girl of about eleven or twelve years old came in. She had her hair in a bun and was wearing a plain face with a flowered jacket. Although she was wearing plain clothes, she looked very well behaved. When she came in, she bowed and greeted everyone.

He smiled again and said, "Madam, why don't you let me teach my sister?"

This was the first time Yao Niang met Luo Jingrou after her rebirth. She was the posthumous daughter of her father Luo Zhizheng's first wife, Wang. She grew up in her maternal grandfather's Yanping Marquis's home since she was a child. Before she was ten years old, she had already become a famous young lady.

Although Yu and this stepdaughter had not spent much time together, she knew that she had always been respectful to her and her behavior was excellent. The Marquis of Yanping even sent four maids to guide Luo Jingrou all year round. Since she had this intention, Yu was also somewhat tempted.

But Yao Niang pinched the corner of Yu's clothes and said, "Mother, I need your teaching."

"This..." Yu looked at Luo Jingrou somewhat embarrassedly.

Luo Jingrou reached behind her and took a plate of snacks and said, "My dear sister, this is the fish paste square cake I made. It is made with fish paste and has a light taste without any fishy smell. It is the best for children."

After she finished speaking, she no longer insisted on teaching Yao Niang, but bowed and left.

Yao Niang breathed a sigh of relief. In her previous life, Luo Jingrou was also very kind to her and always granted her requests. She liked reading storybooks, so Luo Jingrou gave her a box of storybooks. She even gave her cakes at the beginning, three plates a day. She became addicted. Seeing that her teeth were damaged by eating too much, Yu asked her to stop.

She was only seven or eight years old at that time, still young, and she cried. It was Luo Jingrou who secretly sent people to deliver cakes and pancakes to her at night for her to enjoy. It was also at that time that she began to gain weight, especially when she was ten years old. She was much fatter than girls of the same age. It even developed to the point that she couldn't lose weight even if she wanted to. As long as she ate less at each meal, Luo Jingrou would give herself a lot of roast duck, roast duck and pickled vegetables, even though she said that girls should lose weight.

By the time she was fourteen, her legs, chest, and even buttocks were covered with various patterns, as if the flesh had torn through the skin.

This made her feel very inferior.

So much so that later, after she lost weight, she discovered that she was more beautiful than her half-sister Shi Yu, who was known as the most beautiful woman in Gaoping.

But she was still too young to offend Luo Jingrou. Besides, when she glanced at Yu, she felt that her position was very embarrassing.

My father Luo Zhizheng's original wife was born in a marquis's mansion and had a distinguished status, but Yu's father was born in a poor family. He finally made it to the imperial court and became a leader in the government, but he offended the prime minister and the official of the Ministry of Personnel, and was exiled to Sichuan to participate in government affairs. He died in a foreign land on the way to his post.

To make matters worse, Yu's brother died within a year, leaving Yu's mother to raise a little granddaughter and rely on Yu for daily support.

Furthermore, her son Jinghao could only speak when he was two years old. Now he is four years old and has been suffering from a cough due to the draft during the mourning period. His health is not very good. Her daughter is also sickly, and Yu has to run between the two to take care of her, like burning wax.

After dinner, Yu carried her to the bed and sang a lullaby softly.

Yao Niang clenched her fists. Since God had given her another chance to live, she would protect her mother and brother well.

But she was still young and couldn't do anything now. Even if she said a few more official words, she would be exposed and treated as an alien. So she could only lie low. Rejecting Luo Jingrou was the first step. The second step was to take care of her own health and then take good care of her brother.

As a wet nurse in her previous life, she had rich experience in taking care of children. She even often read medical books and consulted the court physician. Otherwise, how could she have taken care of the frail Prince Zhou? Without the Prince Zhou, she would not have been conferred the title of First-Rank Lady!

Yao Niang wanted to think of something else, but unfortunately, Yu was very good at coaxing people to sleep, and she couldn't open her eyelids and became drowsy.