I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Beautiful red lanterns hung from the four corners of the carriage's roof, the carriage was carved with intricate and beautiful patterns, and even the curtains were made of shimmering brocade. Crucially, it was pulled by two tall, dark horses.

Growing up, the village had never seen a carriage pulled by two horses.

The people standing outside the yard watching the excitement had already made way, and the people standing inside the yard also retreated to the sides.

A plump old woman walked to the carriage window with a smile in her eyes.

"Madam, we've arrived at Yang Tiezhu's house."

Many people in the village knew her. She was a midwife from a nearby village. She was the midwife who delivered the second daughter of Yang Tiezhu's family. However, she later remarried and moved elsewhere.

A maid stepped down from the carriage and helped a middle-aged noblewoman into the courtyard. The middle-aged noblewoman had her hair tied up in a bun and looked elegant and graceful, but she wore a white cap and had a sad look in her eyes.

The midwife walked up to Yang Tiezhu, waving her handkerchief, and smiled from ear to ear, "Brother Tiezhu, I'm here to tell you the good news."

The middle-aged lady's gaze fell on Yang Xier's face, and a heavy stone in her heart fell. She maintained a dignified etiquette and introduced herself: "I am a member of the family of the Marquis of Chengyang. This time, I came mainly to find the fourth daughter who has been separated from my family for many years."

"It's your second daughter." The midwife took over and explained what happened that year with some embarrassment.

"You should still remember that when your second daughter was born, your mother-in-law asked me to take her away and throw her in the back mountain. I thought it was a plan agreed upon by your whole family. I didn't expect that after I threw her away, you and your head of the family insisted that I bring her back. But when I went to look for her again, your second daughter was already dead.

I was sitting on the mountain, unsure what to do, when a woman passed by, looking flustered. She must have heard me mumbling to myself, so she threw the child to me and ran off, telling me to give her daughter to you as your second daughter. Thinking it was better to have less trouble than more, I decided to do it instead.

At the time, the child had just been born and none of them had ever seen him, so they had never suspected anything. Mother Yang stepped back in shock. Yang Tiezhu supported his wife, his face also filled with bewilderment.

The midwife smiled and reminded, "You are so lucky. To thank you for raising the fourth girl for so many years, the lady has come with generous gifts."

Yang Xier looked at the strange woman in front of her, her mind wandering: "Are you my...biological mother?"

The middle-aged noblewoman clasped her hands together and bowed her head slightly. "I am the Marquis's concubine. You can call me Aunt Liu. The young lady passed away in a hurry, leaving only a few vague words. It's my fault that it took me so long to find the fourth young lady."

Aunt Liu waved her hand slightly, and the maid beside her came forward, placed a small wooden box on the table, and said, "Here is a hundred taels of silver, in gratitude for raising the fourth young lady."

"One hundred taels?" Yang Tiezhu opened the wooden box tremblingly. The white light of silver shone directly into his eyes, making him swallow his saliva in shock.

Old Lady Yang, Yang Tiechui, Second Aunt Yang and their three sons all stretched their necks to look.

"What does it have to do with you!" Mother Yang straightened her messed up hair and proudly blocked the crowd.

Second Aunt Yang touched her scratched face and said angrily, "One hundred taels is not much."

Yang Tiechui quickly winked at his wife.

Second Aunt Yang quickly covered her mouth, laughing inwardly. Yes, no matter how much money she gave to the old lady, it would still be in her hands in the end.

Aunt Liu had no idea about the relationship between the two families, so she asked her maid to present two hundred taels of silver and smiled to hide her embarrassment.

"My family suffered a sudden misfortune, so I came here in a hurry. After the fourth girl returns to her ancestral home, I will give her another generous gift."

Yang Tiezhu was so shocked that he was speechless. One hundred taels could buy a big house in the town, but he couldn't even imagine what he could do with three hundred taels.

"Xi'er, please go with the Madam!"

Yang Xier looked at her father in surprise, and saw him biting the silver with his head down. She looked away with a self-deprecating look. For herself, and for the daughter he had never met.

"What's there to see? They're all my second uncle's."

Yang Xier turned and went into the house to pack her things. But she had nothing to pack except a hairpin, the plum blossom hairpin that Tian Qing had given her.

Yang Nian'er leaned against the door and saw her second sister sitting alone in the room in a daze. She asked in a muffled voice, "Isn't being the fourth daughter of that marquis's mansion much better than being my second sister? The cakes that Concubine Liu eats are so delicious. I've never seen them before."

"Nian'er, do you think I can stay? Three hundred taels of silver, look how happy my parents are."

"Second sister, I don't want you to leave!"

Yang Nian'er threw herself into Yang Xi'er's arms and cried bitterly.

"Nian'er, do you want to..."

"Four girls!"

The maid's voice interrupted Yang Xier's words. Seeing that the fourth young lady had not come out for a long time, she walked into the house and urged her, "The Marquis's body is still warm. The fourth young lady should leave as soon as possible to fulfill her filial duty."

Yang Xier looked through the window and saw Aunt Liu sitting on a carved mahogany stool eating cakes, and she had a bad feeling.

He hadn't come to look for his daughter for fifteen years, but after Chengyang Hou died in battle, he came to look for his long-lost daughter. It didn't make sense no matter how you thought about it.

Yang Xier swallowed the rest of her words, wiped the tears from her sister's face, and asked the maid: "Sister, can you help me ask Aunt Liu to lend me... thirty taels of silver."

"Fourth Miss, you are embarrassing me. My name is Chunxiang."

Chunxiang turned and left, and Yang Xier hurriedly reminded her not to let my parents know. After a while, she came in with thirty taels of silver.

Yang Xier stuffed twenty taels of silver into her sister's pocket and told her, "Keep these twenty taels for self-defense, and give the remaining ten taels to Brother Qing's mother for me. Tell her that I'm waiting for Brother Qing in the capital."

Unfortunately, Tian Qing had already left for the military camp, so he wouldn't have to go two days later.

Yang Nian'er felt uncomfortable: "I don't want money, I want my second sister."

"You take the silver, and I am still your second sister, okay." Yang Xier coaxed her sister out.

"Dad, Mom, I'm leaving." She called out for the last time.

"Hey." Yang Tiezhu put the banknotes into the wooden box and held it in his arms. At this moment, he finally had time to look at the daughter he had raised for fifteen years.

Mother Yang came to her senses and threw herself into Yang Xier's arms, sobbing bitterly. It was unknown whether she was crying for her daughter who was traveling far away, or for the daughter she had never met.

But she no longer cares.

"When Nian'er gets married, send me a message so I can add to her dowry." The only person in this family she couldn't let go of was her younger sister.

She wants to protect her safety in the important events of life.