It broke Zhou Mama's heart when she heard that the young lady was unwilling to return with her.
Seventh Lady was only three years old when she was abducted. How would she remember her real parents and family?
She could not blame the young girl for not accepting the truth right off the bat. It was understandable. But, it still didn't stop her from feeling hurt by the girl's refusal.
Zhou Mama couldn't stop her tears as she returned to the Jiang family. As soon as she arrived at the residence, she immediately reported her findings to the Jiang family's Second Master, Jiang Ruobai.
When Jiang Ruobai heard that Jiang Ning was indeed his missing daughter, he was so excited that he wanted to see her immediately.
"Shouldn't we tell Madam?" Zhou Mama asked.
"Madam still had not recovered fully from her recent cough and is still in a daze. Her body had remained in poor health from worrying over this child all these years. I'll go and see the child first. Let's not agitate her."
"What Master said is right, we should hide it from Madam for the time being." Zhou Mama agreed but sighed as she pictured the young girl sitting on the wooden wheelchair, "Nevermind Madam, even I can't stand seeing Seventh Lady living in such a place..." Zhou Mama wiped her tears.
The disappearance of the youngest daughter was a fatal blow to Madam's physical and mental health. It had also affected the woman's memory to such a mess, and the servants would often see her staring into space, always in a daze. It was as if her mind was stuck in another place and was unable to return.
If Madam knew that Seventh Lady had been living in the slums all these years, the suffering the young girl had to endure, and not to mention the condition of her leg, how would she survive that blow?
Jiang Ruobai frowned at her vague words, but he did not ask further, feeling too eager to meet his youngest daughter. And so he left in a hurry.
Zhou Mama sighed and was about to head back to check on Madam when she saw Fifth Lady and Sixth Lady walking toward her. She quickly bowed to greet them.
"Zhou Mama, I heard you found
"Yes, Lady. We have found Seventh Lady."
"Is that so? How is she? Did she live a particularly miserable life?" Fifth Lady asked with a wicked smile on her face. The young lady could imagine the state of that girl. Just thinking about the ugly and smelly marketplace, the vulgar appearance of all those women she saw through the palanquin… She could not help but be filled with glee.
"Seventh Lady is the legitimate daughter of the first wife. Even if she is in a dire situation, her bearing is not something that ordinary people can compare with," Zhou Mama said lightly.
Although her tone remained polite, her words were clearly aimed as a reprimand, reminding these two girls of their place.
The Jiang family was separated into two main branches, the eldest son, First Master, was the head of the first branch, while Second Master, Jiang Ruobai, was the head of the second branch. The two sons have children around the same time, so all of them were quite close in age. The fifth and sixth ladies were the daughters of the second branch's concubine. Other than the eldest son, Seventh Lady was the only legitimate daughter.
Since Seventh Lady had been kidnapped, Madam's health had been very poor. She had constantly been taking medicine and was frequently in a state of confusion. With the state of her health, Madam doesn't care about anything else, leaving the household hierarchy in a mess. And so, the second branch was almost completely taken over by the two concubines.
They even bullied the servants who followed Madam.
However, things will be all good now.
The heavens had taken pity on them and they finally found the seventh lady, the only daughter of the first wife of the second branch!
If Madam knew about this, she would be so happy!
Let's see how long these concubines and their daughters remained arrogant!
But…
Thinking of Seventh Lady's miserable situation, Zhou Mama couldn't help but cry.
When the disabled Seventh Lady returned to the residence, she would definitely be ridiculed.
She couldn't bear to see the young miss be treated like so.
Hearing the old woman's words, Fifth Lady eyed the head maid with disdain as she said with a sneer, "Zhou Mama is right. Seventh Sister is our family's legitimate daughter, so her bearing is naturally different. I wonder if Seventh Sister has learned the
Zhou Mama maintained a polite expression on her face but smirked at their doubt on the inside.
When you see Seventh Lady's appearance, let's see if you can still smile.
...
Jiang Ning leaned her back on the wooden wheelchair, her head was supported by the back of the chair, drowsy under the warm spring sun.
She was hungry but didn't really want to eat.
She had no money but was unwilling to think of ways to earn it.
The girl continued to lie lazily on her back as if there weren't any problems she needed to worry about. She was at peace…
Until the courtyard door was pushed open.
"I'm out of rice, so I'm not doing business." Jiang Ning said with her eyes closed.
Jiang Ruobai stood by the door and stared at the young girl who was dozing off on the wooden wheelchair. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and time had stopped.
The girl's face was beautiful and unblemished like clear water, skin as white as snow. She looked precisely like Madam when she was young.