This question flashed a trace of unease in the eyes of both Wei Mingting and Mrs. Yun
"Since it's useless to care, I might as well not. It can't be helped, the thirteen years I've missed with my parents can't be undone. We can only blame fate for being capricious," Wei Ruo spoke lightly, as if she truly understood the difficulties the Wei Family was facing.
Everyone in the room fell silent, especially Wei Mingting and Mrs. Yun who were already worried about Wei Qingwan. Now, they felt even more sympathy for Wei Ruo's unruffled manner.
Moved, Mrs. Yun told Wei Ruo, "Ruoruo, you are our biological child, and we share the same blood. Now that you're back, whether you are the eldest daughter or the second daughter, you hold a very important place in our hearts. We will make up for the lost thirteen years of affection."
"Alright." Wei Ruo agreed cheerfully, but she had her own plans in mind.
Wei Mingting spoke in a deep voice, "Let's settle this matter. You siblings should get along well. Yichen, Wanwan, Ruoruo has just returned and she's unfamiliar with many things, so you should guide her."
"Father, rest assured." Wei Yichen replied.
"I understand." Wei Qingwan replied softly with her head lowered.
As the matter was settled for the time being, Wei Mingting planned to reply to the letter from the Capital City and explain the situation after returning to his study.
After finishing her tea and ending the conversation, Wei Ruo was once again personally escorted back to Tingsong Garden by Mrs. Yun.
Not knowing whether it was the guilt for making Wei Ruo take on the identity of the second daughter, Mrs. Yun kept talking about the things she wanted to prepare for Wei Ruo all the way back, ranging from clothes, head accessories, maids, to other essentials.
Wei Residence could not exactly be considered to be rich. The small family fortune left by their ancestors had long been depleted, and Wei Mingting as a colonel did not have a substantial salary. However, Wei Qingwan already had some of these items, and Mrs. Yun did not feel it was appropriate to offer more to one than the other.
Wei Ruo accepted all the offers of money and items, unwilling to reject any, but subtly declined the offer of additional servants, expressing that for the time being, Xiumei, her maid, was enough and that she didn't like other people entering her room.
Mrs. Yun respected her decision and did not insist on this, only saying if Wei Ruo ever needs anything, to let her know so she can arrange it.
Upon returning to Tingsong Garden, Wei Ruo closed the door to her room, and her composed demeanor gave way the moment she was alone.
Drinking that tea was so laborious! In the same amount of time, a whole crop of wheat could have been reaped!
For some reason, Wei Ruo found that working hard to earn money, while also tiring, was fulfilling. However, the kind of exhaustion that came from handling such situations felt suffocating, as if her chest was filled with stagnant air.
Having known the plot, Wei Ruo was well aware of what Wei Mingting and Mrs. Yun were going to tell her today.
The original host had caused a fuss with Wei Mingting over this matter. The original host felt that what was originally hers was taken by Wei Qingwan, who had enjoyed her identity, status, and familial love for thirteen years, so why should Wei Qingwan continue to hold the identity of the eldest daughter?
In the end, the original host succeeded in securing the identity of the eldest daughter, making everyone pity Wei Qingwan who had been wronged in this matter, and harboring resentment towards the original host in return.
But what the original host fought for and wanted was not just the status of the eldest daughter.
What she truly sought was the attention and care of her biological parents.
It was just that her method of expressing it was a bit clumsy.
From her past experience, Wei Ruo felt that it's better to earn the status and position by hard work rather than relying on others.
Not placing your bets on someone else, not having high expectations of them, especially those who don't care much about you, makes life much more bearable.
Even so, given the chance, Wei Ruo would like to leave the Wei family to start a life of her own.
As for today's matter of the eldest and second daughter, it's not necessarily up to Wei Mingting and Mrs. Yun. The actual decision-maker is their grandfather in the Capital City.
The grandfather in the original story placed great emphasis on the bloodline. After learning that Wei Qingwan was not a direct descendant, he became very cold towards her and might not agree to have Wei Qingwan, who had no blood relation to him, as his eldest granddaughter.
So, instead of arguing with Wei Mingting and Yun Shi here, it would be better to throw the problem to the old earl and let Wei Mingting and his wife contend with the old earl.
###
Wei Ruo had a relatively peaceful time for the next three days, and she had a general understanding of the situation in the residence.
The Wei Family's financial situation was not very good, and the wealth of the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence had been squandered almost, now they are just maintaining appearances.
In Xingshan County, her father Wei Mingting, was just a colonel of the sixth rank, with limited salary and had to support a big family.
I heard that because the anti-Japanese matters are not progressing smoothly, the Emperor is very dissatisfied with the officials of Taizhou prefecture. Wei Mingting is lucky if he is not demoted, let alone promoted.
Of course, a thin camel is bigger than a horse, which is much stronger than her foster parents the He family.
Yun Shi would visit Wei Ruo every day and bring her some supplies.
Wei Mingting was very busy and hadn't returned home for several days. Not to mention Wei Ruo, even Yun Shi hadn't seen him.
Her eldest brother, Wei Yichen, was rather busy with his studies and didn't come often, but every time he came, he would bring back some local snacks from Xingshan County and tell Wei Ruo about the local customs of Xingshan County.
Wei Yilin didn't come by. Once, he passed by Wei Ruo's door, glanced at Wei Ruo from a distance, turned his head in a haughty manner, and walked away quickly.
Wei Qingwan came a few times, and every time she brought gifts, but she always came in a teary state, and Wei Ruo would urge her to return home.
The rest of the time, the one Wei Ruo saw most was Nanny Li, who had been instructed to teach her manners.
But she wasn't really teaching with sincerity. If Wei Ruo appeared lazy, she didn't care much, and allowed it to dismiss.
On the fourth day, Wei Ruo was free for the day and didn't have to learn manners with Nanny Li.
After having breakfast in her own room, Wei Ruo asked Xiumei to find her a hoe.
She aimed at a piece of empty land on the west side of the courtyard, intending to use it for growing vegetables.
She had no choice, as her space required her to plant in order to gain experience, and if she only planted on the land inside her space, the experience gained from upgrading would be too slow.
After leaving Mo Jiazha, she didn't know if the land she had planted there had matured and could be counted as hers, and if she could get the experience points.
Either way, there is no such thing as too many experience points, so she needs to plant what she needs to plant.
Tingsong Garden was rather large, so she didn't want to ruin everything, just plant a little in the corner on the west side, which shouldn't affect the overall aesthetics much.
Wei Ruo turned over the soil bit by bit, her movements strong and rhythmic.
In a short while, a two-square-meter piece of land was reclaimed by Wei Ruo.
Then she and Xiumei chopped up a bunch of bamboos and set up a rack against the wall, ready to grow loofah, pumpkin, and gourd here.
Wei Ruo stopped for a break and sat on a stone bench in the courtyard for a drink of water.
A boy came running to knock on the door, and Xiumei went to answer it.
Wei Ruo paused as she overheard the boy and Xiumei's conversation. The boy mentioned that the chopping noise from their side was disturbing the second young master next door who was reading and requested them to keep the noise down.