Chapter 20: Warmth

"Do I owe you?" Chi Nan Yi sneered, "In Miss Meng's eyes, perhaps everyone in the world owes you. Had it not been for the Chi Family, you would have died long ago—starved, frozen, torn apart by beasts, with a thousand ways to die at your disposal. It's enough that you lack gratitude. Now that you've climbed a high branch and are still spitting cold words here, what exactly are you dissatisfied with? Is it that the Meng Family let you acknowledge your ancestry too late, that the Chi Family never tried to keep you, or that you saw the Minister's Residence people trying to keep me, and you became jealous?"

Chi Nan Yi's triple strike almost made Meng Qinghe cough up blood.

"You! What nonsense are you spouting? I am the genuine legitimate lady of the Minister's Residence; I'm not comparable to a lowly scum like you!" Meng Qinghe lifted her chin, fists clenched, staring at Chi Nan Yi's stunningly beautiful face, as if she could slash it with a knife: "I am tens of millions of times more beautiful than you!"

"Heh, does your family have no water or no urine? Or just look at yourself properly." Chi Nan Yi lowered her voice, "Do you really think you're some fragrant little brat? Just be generous and say it out loud; I won't mock you secretly." A smile curled at the corner of her mouth, her voice full of pleasure: "I will, like now, mock you to your face."

"You!" Meng Qinghe raised her hand and swung it straight at Chi Nan Yi's face.

"Stop!" Chi Ting Song hurried forward, grabbed Chi Nan Yi and pulled her back; Chi Nan Yi sheathed the Silver Needle at her fingertips and turned to look at the Chi Family father and son.

"Qinghe, how could you strike?"

"Shut up!" Meng Qinghe shouted, "I am now a lady of the Minister's Residence; you have no right to address me by my given name!"

"Sister." A man in a sapphire robe stepped out of the main gate, "Why are you still talking nonstop with this sort of person?" Meng Jue glanced disdainfully at the Chi Family father and son, "Leave quickly; people like you standing here only dirty the threshold of our Minister's Residence." He then turned to Chi Nan Yi, his tone extremely displeased, "I truly don't understand why you would rather abandon everything here to go to that filthy place; it's utterly foolish!"

She turned to look at the Chi Family father and son; in her previous life she already knew they were good family.

In this life, given a second chance, she is determined to make up for past regrets.

The original protagonist never experienced true familial affection; in her past life it was mission after mission, and she never tasted the feeling of kinship.

Having lived two lives as a human, she wants to live for herself once.

As long as these flies don't bother her, she naturally won't pick a fight with them; but if they remain oblivious, she shouldn't be blamed for showing no quarter.

"Is that so?"

"Hmph, you've never known hardship since birth; you probably don't understand what life will be like if you go back with them. Let me give you some advice: it's not too late to turn back now, go back and apologize to father and mother; you'll still be a lady of the Minister's Residence, and everything will be handled according to their lenient standards, so you won't lose out."

"No need." Chi Nan Yi said lightly, "Since I've left, I have no lingering attachment to these things; Eldest Son Meng, tend to your own affairs!" A flash of cold sharpness passed through Chi Nan Yi's eyes. In the original protagonist's memory, Meng Jue, after learning she was not his biological sister, bore malice toward her; had the original protagonist not later been chosen by the Crown Prince as a side consort, she would likely have fallen victim to Meng Jue's scheme.

Since she transmigrated here, Meng Jue had been away on errands; he only returned to the residence today, making this her first time seeing him.

Meng Qinghe watched their departing backs, a trace of sinister malice flashing in her eyes.

"Chi Nan Yi, in this life you dare not block this lady's path again. In the previous life you weren't my opponent; in this life you will still be my defeated subordinate. I want to see how you'll survive in the impoverished, remote corner of the Chi Family—soon a famine will strike. I look forward to you not starving to death on the road of fleeing famine."

Chi Nan Yi followed the Chi Family father and son; as they gazed at the brocade silk finery she wore, they couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

"Um, miss…"

"Father, I'm no longer a miss; just call me Yier, Chi Nan Yi."

"Yier, do you truly wish to go back with us? Rural life is modest and can't compare to the Minister's Residence."

"Father, since I am your child, I shall share the same days with you, mother, and elder brothers. The time in the Minister's Residence remains in the past; I'm not afraid of hardship."

Hearing her say that, the Chi Family father and son both broke into smiles.

"Good! Since Yier is willing to return with father, I will certainly not let Yier suffer."

"Right, Yier, elder brother has plenty of strength; he can go to the back mountain to bring you fresh game, and also chop firewood to sell in town, exchange the silver for nice clothes for you."

Chi Nan Yi looked at them, a warm feeling flickered in her heart.

Sometimes, simple emotions more easily touch the heart.

"By the way, Yier, do you know any doctor in Jingcheng?"

"What's the matter? Father, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

"It's not father, it's grandmother." Chi Zhiqiu sighed, "Grandmother has been ill for a long time, never improving. It's… Miss Meng, she said she once met a Divine Doctor in the back mountain; that Divine Doctor is in Jingcheng, so we went to Jingcheng to find the Divine Doctor, surely can cure grandmother's illness. We were reluctant to come; the journey is far, the silver spent is not little, but Miss Meng insisted, we had no choice but to come to Jingcheng, and unexpectedly… she turned out not to be looking for the Divine Doctor."

Chi Nan Yi heard this, sneered, "That's exactly something Meng Qinghe could have done."

"Father, could you tell me about grandmother's condition?" Chi Nan Yi said with a smile, "When I was in the Minister's Residence, I studied a bit of medicine under the Palace's imperial doctor; perhaps I have a method."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Chi Ting Song felt a surge of joy, "It's a cough disease, daily coughing, unable to catch breath, bedridden, cannot get up; each day the air gets colder, it worsens."

Chi Nan Yi nodded; from his description, it seemed like asthma.

It's not a serious disease, but if it actually flares up, it could be fatal.

"Yier, can this disease be cured?"

"Yes." Chi Nan Yi nodded, "I can cure it; father need not worry. Let's hurry back home!"

"Alright."

With those words finished, Chi Ting Song and Chi Zhiqiu slung their packs and headed toward the city gate.

Chi Nan Yi blinked, "Walk there?"

"Yes!"

"The village is several hundred li from Jingcheng; on foot it would take ages to get there," Chi Nan Yi said softly, "Father, let's take a carriage."

"A carriage…" Chi Ting Song picked up the money pouch, looked at the mere few dozen cash inside, and a hint of embarrassment crossed his face.

A few dozen coins probably can't even buy a single horse hoof; how can we afford a carriage?

Seeing their predicament, Chi Nan Yi looked around and spotted a ready‑to‑wear shop.

"Father, elder brother, wait for me," she said, then ran toward the ready‑to‑wear shop.