Chapter 19: Finally Free

Background?

Absolutely not!

Meng Qinghe hurriedly said, "Father! You can't!"

She couldn't let others know she came from the countryside. In her previous life, it was precisely this background that made the Crown Prince despise her.

This lifetime, she would hide this secret no matter what.

Jiang Clan also reacted in an instant.

Indeed—if everyone found out about He'er's identity, let alone the Crown Prince, even prominent noble families would never consider marrying her.

But if that were the case, then wouldn't her daughter's suffering have been for nothing?

Seeing their hesitation, Chi Nan Yi said softly, "My Lord, Madam, you can tell others that my sister has been recuperating at a country estate all along, and only recently recovered enough to be sent back. That way, no one will gossip."

"Yi'er, what did you just call us?"

"Madam, since your true daughter is coming back, I naturally can no longer call you Mother." Chi Nan Yi wiped her tears with somewhat affected grace. This slightly exaggerated performance struck the Meng couple as utterly sincere—after all, leaving this nest of gold and silver for a pigsty or dog kennel, anyone would be reluctant to go.

Jiang Clan wanted to keep her. Even though she couldn't be married to the Crown Prince, if she were married into a prince's household or a family useful to them, it would still count as not having wasted their effort in raising her. But Meng Hui showed no intention of asking her to stay.

A source of trouble.

These two words had already planted themselves in his heart, like a thorn.

"Hmph, since you say you found He'er by the roadside, then so be it. But this matter must never be brought up again. You had best keep it rotting in your bellies. If even a hint leaks out that you once raised He'er, don't blame this minister for turning on you without mercy!" He turned to look at Chi Nan Yi. "Since your mind is made up, this minister won't keep you. But once you walk out this door, you are no longer a young lady of the Minister's Residence, and you are never to mention your identity here again. Understood?"

Chi Nan Yi nodded. "Yes."

Seeing the Chi Family members unharmed, a flash of unwillingness crossed Meng Qinghe's eyes.

Chi Nan Yi in particular—how could she be allowed to leave the Minister's Residence just like that?

In the previous life, failing to kill her right from the start had been her own negligence. This lifetime, she would not leave this place in one piece.

"You've received the Meng Family's favor for so many years. Leaving without repaying it—that's not right!"

Hearing Meng Qinghe's voice, Chi Nan Yi smiled. "I wonder what the Eldest Miss has in mind?"

"He'er," Meng Hui said in a low voice. "Let it be."

Meng Qinghe was unwilling in her heart, but since her father had spoken, she could only swallow her anger for now. She had only just returned to the Meng Family; there was no need to rush. The Chi Family was nothing but a bunch of mud-legged commoners. If she wanted their lives, it would only take a single word—why be hasty?

"When you leave here, the Minister's Residence won't give you a single tael of silver. Go!" Meng Hui said flatly. "Remember what this minister just said. Once you leave here, you are no longer a young lady of the Minister's Residence."

Chi Nan Yi stood there, the smile on her face unchanged. "May I ask whether my household registration can now be separated from the Minister's Residence?"

If her registration wasn't transferred out, she would still technically belong to the Minister's Residence.

Meng Hui glanced at the steward. Before long, the steward came over with her registration document.

Holding the document in hand, Chi Nan Yi was extremely satisfied.

With this, she was truly free.

Seeing the look of relief on her face, Meng Qinghe frowned deeply. How did she seem not the least bit sad or upset about leaving the Minister's Residence? In her previous life, she had clung shamelessly to the Minister's Residence.

"Hmph, truly an ungrateful wretch. All those years Father and Mother wasted raising you for nothing. Now that you've found your birth parents, you can't wait to kick aside the ones who raised you for so many years."

Chi Nan Yi turned to look at Meng Qinghe, a trace of mockery on her lips. "Ungrateful wretch? Which of the two of us is more of an ungrateful wretch?"

"You—!"

Chi Nan Yi bowed to the Meng couple. "Thank you, My Lord and Madam, for your cultivation. All that has passed, Yi'er will keep engraved in her heart, never to be forgotten for the rest of her life." With that, she walked over to the Chi father and son and helped them to their feet.

Chi Ting Song looked at her face, his hands hanging at his sides tightening.

"Child."

"Father, Brother," Chi Nan Yi said softly. "Let's go."

"Ah, good, good!" Chi Ting Song stood up, stumbled a few steps, and followed Chi Nan Yi toward the exit.

Stepping through the great gates of the Minister's Residence, Chi Nan Yi drew a deep breath.

Even the wind tasted of freedom.

Leaving the Minister's Residence meant she had also altered the original owner's trajectory.

Just then, Meng Qinghe's voice came from behind.

"Wait." Meng Qinghe walked to the doorway, looking down at Chi Nan Yi from above, her face filled with haughty arrogance. "Chi Nan Yi."

She stopped and turned to look at Meng Qinghe. "What is it now?"

Seeing the look in Chi Nan Yi's eyes—undisguised contempt and loathing—Meng Qinghe said angrily, "So it's true! Everything you did in the main hall just now was an act! And to think Father and Mother believed they had raised a well-educated, gentle, and obedient good daughter. If they knew your true face, who knows what they would think."

Chi Nan Yi's lips curved up. "Heh, whatever I become has nothing to do with them or the Minister's Residence anymore. But you, Miss Meng, are quite different now. Don't assume everyone covets the Minister's Residence's wealth and splendor as you do. Since you love it here so much, then enjoy every single day you spend here!"

"Chi Nan Yi, you're just saying the grapes are sour because you can't have them. You act so high and mighty, looking down on the wealth and splendor here. This miss would love to see, stripped of everything this place offers, what kind of life you'll live, and how miserable it feels to have no money." She sneered. "It doesn't matter. If you can't hold on, you can always come back. This miss is still short of a lowly servant to empty the chamber pots."

"Qinghe, how can you speak like that?" Chi Zhiqiu stepped forward with a furrowed brow, saying in a deep voice, "Our Chi Family is poor, but in all the years you were with the Chi Family, we never mistreated you."

"Shut up!" Meng Qinghe glared viciously at Chi Zhiqiu. "Never mistreated? You have the nerve to say the Chi Family never mistreated me? Look at what I'm wearing now, and what I wore in the Chi Family! You stole fifteen years of my prosperous life! This is all what you owe me!" She turned her gaze to Chi Nan Yi. "What you owe me!"

Chi Nan Yi couldn't be bothered to argue with her. The life of luxury and prosperity she imagined—Heaven knew how miserably she had lived every single day. Aside from eating and sleeping, she had spent every moment studying the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, needlework, the Four Books and Five Classics, and the Rules and Admonitions for Women. From the very beginning, the Meng Family had intended to mold her into the perfect candidate for Crown Princess.

In such an ice cavern devoid of the slightest familial warmth, riddled with vicious scheming at every turn, simply surviving to this point had been no easy feat.