Chapter 16: It Turned Out to Be Her

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin had just stepped through the main gate of the manor when she heard the commotion inside, a cacophony of noise and clamor.

"Ouch, Father, please stop hitting me, ouch..."

"Stop right there! You good-for-nothing wretch..."

"I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son! I'll break your legs and see where you run to!"

"Ouch... Father, you're really hitting me!"

"Master, please stop! I beg you, stop! You'll break Cheng'er..."

"Silence! Say another word and I'll beat you too! You're the one who spoiled him!"

"..."

It turned out that Jun Chengcai, who had not shown his face since her return to the manor, had sneaked back with two debt collectors from a gambling den. He had been caught red-handed by Xiang Xiang Junzheng, who was so furious he nearly had a stroke and was now chasing him down, creating chaos with chickens flying and dogs barking.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin watched the spectacle with interest. One covered his head and ran, another chased with a raised stick, and a third knelt on the ground begging for mercy, while maids and nannies stood by at a loss, making quite a scene.

"This good-for-nothing truly wasted the name his parents gave him." After watching for a while, Seeing Jun Jun Zijin lost interest and turned her steps toward the Old Lady's courtyard.

From afar, she smelled a strong medicinal scent. Sure enough, upon entering the room, she saw the Old Lady's wrinkled face twisted in disgust, refusing to take her medicine, while Nanny Wang patiently urged her on the side.

Her grandmother took medicine with every meal, and her heart ached. She hurried forward and asked Nanny Wang, who was preparing to serve the medicine:

"Has it been tested for poison?"

"Replying to the Second Young Lady, please rest assured. This old servant prepared the medicine personally in our small kitchen as you instructed, and it has been tested for poison." Nanny Wang replied respectfully.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin had instructed Nanny Wang that the Old Lady's meals and medicinal soups must be arranged personally by Nanny Wang. Realizing the situation was unusual, Nanny Wang dared not be the slightest bit careless.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin took the medicine bowl from Nanny Wang's hands, took a small sip herself, and then gently fed it to the Old Lady.

"Grandmother, be good. Once you finish the medicine, your illness will be cured." Seeing Jun Jun Zijin coaxed the Old Lady just as she had coaxed her daughter in her past life.

"Daughter...?" Seeing Jun Jun Zijin's heart skipped a beat. She missed her daughter... She wondered if father and daughter were doing well...

The Old Lady was amused by Seeing Jun Jun Zijin. Not noticing her granddaughter's strange behavior, her face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Good, good. Grandmother will drink. By next year, Grandmother still needs to preside over the coming-of-age ceremony for my second daughter!" Saying this, she opened her mouth and drank the medicine clean.

After feeding the Old Lady her medicine, Seeing Jun Jun Zijin stayed to chat about amusing matters, then performed a set of rehabilitation exercises for the Old Lady. She patiently taught the massage and manipulation techniques to Nanny Wang and the Old Lady's personal maid. Finally, she tucked in the corner of the Old Lady's quilt before feeling reassured enough to stand up and leave.

Meanwhile, Quan Quan Aoyu returned to the palace in silence all the way and immediately ordered Bai Yu to investigate Seeing Jun Jun Zijin's background and origins:

"Remember, investigate thoroughly." He said to Bai Yu.

A short while later, Bai Yu returned to report. He spoke mysteriously to Quan Quan Aoyu:

"Master, guess who that girl is."

"Stop wasting words."

"Master, according to my investigation, that girl is the Second Young Lady of the Jun family, the Ministry of Rites Minister's household. Her birth mother passed away when she was young. At eight years old, she was banished to a remote estate for beating her stepmother and harming her legitimate sister. She had to gather firewood from the back mountain and draw water from the well, working just to earn food, often going hungry. She only returned to the manor the day before yesterday."

Hearing this, Quan Quan Aoyu's previously calm expression gradually darkened. His eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a glint of cold light.

"Hah, Minister Jun is quite something; he knows how to bully an orphan!"

At that moment, Minister Jun, who was scolding his son, had no idea he had already been marked in the Crown Prince's mind.

Bai Yu was a bit confused; shouldn't his master's focus be on "beating the mother and harming the legitimate sister"?

"Continue." Quan Quan Aoyu said, suppressing the anger in his heart.

Bai Yu spoke with a hint of disdain:

"Master, you may not know, but rumors say the Jun family's Second Young Lady is incompetent in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; she is a genuine waste of talent..."

Quan Quan Aoyu cast a cold glance at Bai Yu.

Bai Yu shrank his neck. "I will go receive punishment of ten military rods myself." Saying this, he quickly retreated.

"A waste of talent?" Quan Quan Aoyu murmured to himself: Indeed, rumors are just rumors and cannot be taken seriously. He simply felt that someone capable of drawing such exquisite blueprints could not be that bad.

"The estate... the back mountain..."

Quan Quan Aoyu's thoughts returned to five years ago, when he had been pursued by assassins and, injured, had hidden in the mountains.

He had encountered a little girl who had injured her finger while gathering firewood and was sitting on the ground crying alone. It was this little girl who had dug up medicinal herbs to treat his wound and given him the only half a steamed bun she had...

There was indeed an estate not far from that mountain.

A figure of a little girl floated in Quan Quan Aoyu's mind. At that time, her face was smeared with tears and dust like a calico cat. He had not recognized her when he saw her today, but now that he thought about it, her eyebrows and eyes did bear a resemblance. It turned out to be her.