It's good to exchange marriages. My sister eats coarse food while I wear gold and silver.

In such a short time, what the Second Aunt said brought too much shock and too many doubts to Ling Jiuyuan. Countless questions filled his head and his headache was about to explode.

"I, I don't understand what you are saying..." Mrs. Ling rarely shouted, but lowered her head guiltily.

"It's okay if you don't understand. Let me tell you. The orphan girl that my eldest brother brought back is somewhat similar to your sister. Originally, my parents didn't agree with him taking a concubine, but on the night he brought the orphan girl back, he knelt in front of his parents and said that he always regretted that if he had been more careful, Sister Ruoxi wouldn't have lost her innocence, let alone died. So he felt that God let him meet that orphan girl to make up for his regrets. Moreover, the orphan girl also knew the whole story. She had no family, and to her, my eldest brother was her family. She didn't expect to live a life of wealth and glory, she just wanted to have a place to stay."

When Ling Xue mentioned the past, her eyes were red. "She was a good girl. When she found out she was pregnant, she asked if she wanted to marry someone named after Sister Ruoxi. She always said that if she didn't look like Sister Ruoxi, she would have starved to death long ago, and how could she be favored by the eldest brother? During her time in the Ling Mansion, she always abided by her duties, was filial to her parents-in-law, and treated the servants kindly. She even said that after the child was born, she would give it to you to raise. Do you think there is any mother who would be willing to give her child, born after ten months of pregnancy, to an outsider to raise?"

"Mother, mother...can you tell me, are these things true?" Ling Jiuyuan, who had slowly calmed down, looked at his mother.

"No, Yuan'er, don't listen to her nonsense. You don't know that your second aunt loves your father..."

"Xu Ruo Lian, if I had feelings for my elder brother, do you think you could still marry into the Ling family?" Ling Xue was extremely disappointed with Xu Ruo Lian. "After you got married, your elder brother has always slept in a separate room from you. It was you who listened to the servants' slander and drugged your elder brother, which made you pregnant with Yuan'er. Also, during the years you have been in the Ling mansion, you have wanted the best in everything, not to mention extravagance. You even secretly took out the gold, silver and jewelry in the mansion to sell them off. If your elder brother hadn't stopped you, do you think you really lived such a comfortable life?"

Ling Jiuyuan could still bear what happened before.

He always thought that the biggest reason for the conflict between his mother and father was that his father took a concubine.

But he never expected that he, Ling Jiuyuan, was born because his mother drugged his father, not because of the love between his father and mother.

This brought too great a shock to Ling Jiuyuan.

It was so loud that there was a voice in his head that kept shouting: "You are a stain, you should die and atone for your sins!"

"No, Yuan'er, don't listen to her nonsense. It's not like that. It was your father who betrayed me first..." Mrs. Ling was still quibbling, trying to arouse her son's sympathy by using weakness.

"If I am talking nonsense, then why didn't you go back to your parents' home when you left Ling Mansion with Yuan'er? Your parents are not cold-blooded people, and they would not let their daughter live outside with a child. The fundamental reason is that they are disappointed in you and feel extremely sad about what you have done, so they didn't let you go back to your parents' home."

Ling Xue looked at her nephew: "Yuan'er, think about it, after you left the Ling Mansion, did your grandfather and his family never come to visit you again?"

"Mother... why are you doing this?" Ling Jiuyuan didn't understand. How could jealousy arise between biological sisters?

"Yuan'er..."

"Mother, I just want to hear the truth from you."

Maybe his son's eyes were too cold, or maybe all the secrets that Mrs. Ling had tried so hard to hide were revealed by Ling Xue.

She suddenly gave up everything.

"Everyone pursues their own right to happiness. I just did what I thought was right. What did I do wrong?" Madam Ling shouted. "Xu Ruoxi has been weak and sickly since she was a child. She has absorbed all the attention of her parents. My parents always told me to be more considerate and accommodating to her, but I am also their daughter. Why should I, as their elder sister, be tolerant in everything? I am a virgin girl who has been rejected three times, but my parents found such a good husband for Xu Ruoxi, a sickly girl. Why?!"

"Xu Ruo Lian, although Sister Ruo Xi was weak and sickly, she was proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She was a well-known talented woman in the capital. On the other hand, you have been ignorant since childhood. Your parents wanted to be strict with you, but after a few times, you cried and said that they abused you and they let you indulge because they were disappointed. Why didn't you mention these things at all?"

If Ling Xue hadn't investigated everything that happened over the years, she might have been led astray by Xu Ruolian who was playing the victim.

"That's right. I remember that several famous teahouses in Beijing had paintings by the second daughter of the Xu family. One of her paintings was sold at a sky-high price. Even Han Ming said that she was talented when he saw her paintings. If it weren't for her poor health, Han Ming would have planned to take her in as his apprentice." Marquis Wanning looked at Madam Ling, whose face was gradually turning pale, and said, "Xu Ruolian, you only see the side of your sister that your parents care about her, but you don't see the hard work she put in to survive."

"Xu Nuolian, I came here today to bring Yuan'er back to Ling's. He has never burned the incense in front of his father's grave..."

"no!"

Madam Ling suddenly pulled out the hairpin on her head and put it against her neck: "If you take Yuan'er away, I will die in front of you!"

"Xu Ruolian, can you please have some shame? You've already forced my eldest brother to death, do you want to force Yuan'er to death as well?"

"I……"

"Whoosh."

Suddenly, a dart appeared from nowhere and hit Mrs. Ling's wrist accurately. She screamed "Ah" and the hairpin in her hand fell immediately.

Ling Jiuyuan immediately kicked the hairpin away, but when he saw the dart on the ground, he looked up in shock and looked forward.

“It’s so lively.”

Yuan Buwei was startled, and when she turned her head, she saw Lan Ling'er, who was wearing a red gauze dress, revealing a large area of skin, leaning against the gate of the courtyard.

He was looking at everyone with a smile.

"Sister Ling'er."

Yuan Buwei immediately walked up with her skirt lifted up: "I just sent you a letter via carrier pigeon, and you're here the next day?"

"You're lucky, girl. I happened to be on a mission in the suburbs of Beijing." Lan Ling'er smiled and pinched Yuan Buwei's cheek. "But I didn't expect that you actually knew my old lover."

"So the reason you came here so quickly is actually because of Lord Ling?" Yuan Buwei raised her eyebrows and joked.

"Screw you."

Lan Ling'er gave Yuan Buwei a cold look, then walked forward seductively until she was in front of Ling Jiuyuan, leaned over, stretched out her two nails painted with bright red nail polish, and lifted his chin.