Gu Shi Yi had long known that the person who could impersonate her would certainly bear some resemblance to her, which was why she was not surprised by the similarity in their appearances. What shocked her was,
she knew this woman!
Gu Shi Yi recognized this woman as the Eldest Young Madam of the Sun Family, the eldest Miss of the Gu Family!
As mentioned earlier, perhaps because of her half-demon body, Shiyi was precocious. At the age of five, she was already aware of many things and remembered them to this day. And she had once met this woman in her childhood, she remembered even after twenty-five years!
Back then, her birth mother had just run away, which infuriated the Gu Family's head. He sent his son with his granddaughter to demand an explanation from the Qian Family, and Shiyi had accompanied her biological father on a trip to her maternal family in Goldflow City, and there she had seen her maternal grandfather once.
At that time, while she was with her grandfather, she saw a little girl who was not much older than herself. The meeting between the two families was extremely unpleasant, and the atmosphere was very oppressive. However, this had nothing to do with the children. While the adults spoke among themselves, Shiyi, bored beside her father, looked this way and that, and then noticed the little girl with a wooden expression standing behind her grandfather.
"She just stood there without moving, like a wooden stake. Isn't she tired?"
Shiyi, full of curiosity, quietly asked her mother,
"Who is that?"
Her mother glanced over and whispered,
"Young Miss, that is one of your cousins. Her mother and your mother were sisters, but your mother was of legitimate birth, while her mother was born of a concubine. Her mother passed away early, and she has no one left on her father's side, so she was taken back to your maternal family..."
"Oh..."
Shiyi's own mother had run away and, hearing that her cousin's mother had died and her father was no more, she felt a sense of commiseration and therefore gave the other a smile. However, the cousin was like a block of wood, not even giving her a glance. Seeing this, the mother beside Shiyi said,
"Her status is too low to be worth your notice, Young Miss. You needn't be so kind to her!"
"Oh..."
Shiyi nodded and no longer paid attention to her cousin. It wasn't that she thought social hierarchy was that important, but seeing that the cousin was so cold, she had no intention of forming a relationship, so naturally, she didn't want to waste her warmth on indifference.
That past event was just a minor episode, less memorable to a child than a tasty chestnut candy. She had quickly forgotten about that cold cousin, but Shiyi, with her good memory, really did remember the cousin's appearance and her aloof temperament. Now, meeting under such circumstances and having been in the Itinerant World for so long, she couldn't help but show some reaction on her face.
The lady in the seat of honor was also taken aback upon seeing Shiyi. She didn't have Shiyi's good memory and couldn't remember her. However, seeing the resemblance with herself, she couldn't help but wonder inwardly,
"How does this woman resemble me? Could she be a distant relative?"
The Qian Family of Goldflow City and the Gu Family were both Great Cultivation Families. The Gu Family still had people engaging in cultivation, but the Qian Family had none left. Nevertheless, having been prosperous in the past and with many family members like the Gu Family, it was possible that they could indeed encounter a distant relative. Thus, the Eldest Young Madam spoke and asked,
"What is your surname and name, and where are you from?"
Shiyi, having composed her expression, replied respectfully,
"This servant's name is Li Yan, from Sima City..."
"Sima City... It's quite far from here. How did you end up here?"
Shiyi then repeated the story she had concocted, and the Eldest Young Madam nodded and said,
"Hmm, though of low birth, you still seem to be decent!"
A person from Sima City was unlikely to be a relative, she thought; the woman probably just bore some resemblance to herself. The Eldest Young Madam looked disdainfully at Shiyi's wheat-colored complexion and thought to herself,
"So tanned, clearly a crude peasant woman. How could she be related to me!"
After thinking it over, she turned to Wet Nurse Huang and said,
"Teach her the rules properly!"
"Yes!"
The Eldest Young Madam had many responsibilities to manage daily, and not just anyone in her daughter's company could meet her. Shiyi was not yet of that status. After a brief exchange, Wet Nurse Huang took her away.
From then on, Shiyi stayed in the courtyard of the Eldest Young Madam of the Sun Family. With her keenness and social skills, she quickly became familiar with everyone there within three days. There was also a curious matter; the Youngest Miss of the Sun Family was born with an illness. At the age of four, her small frame was like that of a two-year-old, and even walking was unstable for her. As her parents doted on her, she would occasionally come out for some fresh air, but she would always be carried by the servants.