Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Looking at her daughter's face, Ji Chunhua hesitated before speaking: "I think... the Duchess still seems to have feelings for you."

Yu Wanran chuckled.

"I'm not going back, there's no going back!"

If she really dares to consider going back, she might just end up back in the same miserable fate she had in her previous life.

Your future depends on your own efforts. Don't covet wealth and status that aren't rightfully yours, or you'll only bring trouble upon yourself.

Ji Chunhua breathed a sigh of relief, her expression a mixture of relief and disappointment.

"It's better not to go back, Mother can't bear to part with you."

If the Duke's mansion wants to take this daughter back, then the other one definitely won't be returned. Wouldn't she then lose two daughters at the same time? No matter what, she can't accept that.

Fortunately, Ranran is sensible...

"It's because your parents are incompetent that we couldn't give you the good life you had in the Duke's mansion. Ranran, will you resent us?"

Looking at Ji Chunhua's graying temples and sorrowful eyes, Yu Wanran gently shook her head.

"Mother, I promise I will give you a good life."

The mother and daughter sat down for a heart-to-heart talk. Meanwhile, the Duke's mansion presented a completely different scene.

The mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. In her quiet bedroom, Duchess Zheng Peipei sat alone by the bed, looking at a poorly embroidered sachet in her hand.

After looking at it for a while, he stretched out his arm, twirled the tassel of the sachet, and thought of throwing it into the enamel brazier in front of the bed to burn it. After hesitating for a moment, he pulled it back and held it in his palm, lost in thought.

That child was mischievous from a young age. He disliked needlework and preferred playing with weapons. Yet, for her sake, he stayed up all night embroidering a sachet, nearly ruining all ten of his fingers from pricking them with the needle.

This seemingly ugly sachet is actually the best one out of a whole bunch of sachets the child embroidered.

Whenever she recalls the little things they did together, her heart feels like it's being clenched, and she can't breathe.

The Duke rarely sets foot in the inner quarters now.

That child was once the pride of both her and the Duke. The Duke had told her privately more than once that it was a pity Ranran was a girl. Otherwise, she would be many times, even dozens of times, better than her older brother!

Unconsciously, Cheng Pei-pei felt a pang of sadness.

She felt resentment and pain in her heart, thinking, "How could that child be so stupid?"

If she had been willing to cry and plead a little more back then, she and the Duke might have taken the opportunity to keep her...

Originally, the fault did not lie with the two children.

But this usually wise man was so resolute that day.

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and a personal maidservant cautiously reported, "Madam, the person sent to Qingping Village has returned."

Taking a deep breath, Cheng Pei-pei gently placed the finger adorned with the emerald ring over her eyelids. Once her vision cleared, she spoke softly.

"Bring people in."

Yan Qing followed the maid inside with trepidation.

He had been busy delivering gifts and wasn't prepared to deal with the Duchess. He remembered her as extremely strict. Although she rarely summoned them, she would always inquire in detail about the county princess's daily life, leaving no stone unturned.

In his view, the inner quarters consisted of only a dozen or so concubines and one illegitimate daughter. With the county princess's exceptional martial arts skills, how could she possibly encounter any danger?

Yan Bai mocked him for being stupid, saying that if it weren't for his master's repeated protection, he would have been sold off by the Duchess long ago!

This time, Yanbai told him not to go to Qingping Village. But he was so attached to his former master that he went to take the mission. Will he be able to get past the Duchess's hurdle safely upon his return?

Zheng Peipei glanced at the young guard in blue who had entered. She vaguely remembered him; he was one of the bodyguards who accompanied Ranran. He was rather clumsy, and his replies twice failed to satisfy her, so she replaced him with one of fairer skin.

She paused, lost in thought, and asked, "Did the things get delivered to Ran... to her?"

Yanqing bowed respectfully and replied, "Yes, Madam, it has been delivered!"

"What did she say?"

Cheng Pei-pei appeared nonchalant, but her fingers tightened around the sachet in her palm.

"Madam, please bring Miss Yu back! She's not doing well there!"

Recalling Yu Wanran's tearful eyes that had deeply impacted him, and her lonely, emaciated figure, Yan Qing gritted his teeth, knelt down, and recounted the entire incident in detail.

An honest man's mouth, as if blessed with divine inspiration, embellished the story, making it sound as if Yu Wanran had not gone home, but had been cast into hell.

Cheng Pei-pei listened with skepticism.

However, when she heard Yu Wanran say that she was unfortunate and had no chance to fulfill her filial duties to her and the Duke, and that she would spend the rest of her life praying for them, her eyes subconsciously welled up with tears.

These words must have come from that child. So proud, worthy of the sixteen years of upbringing she and the Duke had given him.

However, now that we've just reunited with Yao Yao, bringing that other child back now might upset her. I wonder what the Duke is thinking?

She took out a handkerchief and rubbed her sore eyes. Everything needed to be considered carefully. The child would probably have to suffer for a while... Just as she was thinking this, she heard the maid outside announce loudly again.

"Madam, the county princess has returned!"

Before the words were even finished, Xiao Yao, dressed in bright red with a fur cloak still damp with the cold raindrops from outside, burst in. The maid who had come to announce her arrival followed behind, flustered.

Zheng Peipei frowned slightly and gestured for Yanqing to leave.

Xiao Yao looked at Yan Qing and asked curiously, "Mother, who is this?"

"I've told you so many times, you must call me 'Mother.' In a mansion like ours, everything must be done according to the rules!"

Zheng Peipei patiently had a maid help Xiao Yao remove her cloak.

“He is your elder brother’s bodyguard. I summoned him for questioning.”

Hearing her lecture again, Xiao Yao curled her lip in disapproval. However, her eyes lit up when she heard the words "secret guards".

"Secret guards? Mother, my elder brother has secret guards, do I have them too?"

"Of course, your father and I haven't had time to select bodyguards for you yet."

Xiao Yao's personality is completely different from Yu Wanran's; she loves to run around all day, so she should pay more attention to safety and be accompanied by bodyguards. The Duke's mansion is a prominent place that attracts attention, and this is a remote small town, so there's a risk of something going wrong.

"Then just give him to me!"

Xiao Yao pointed at Yan Qing, who hadn't had time to leave, her eyes filled with hidden malice.

Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head respectfully. What Xiao Yao said next made his heart pound like a drum.

"I heard there's another Yan Bai, who was also one of the fake bodyguards before? Mother, please don't bother with that, just send them to me directly, it'll save you trouble!"

Xiao Yao acted nonchalantly, as if she really didn't care.

Zheng Peipei looked at Yan Qing, then at Xiao Yao. After a moment, she slowly shook her head.

“Your father has already assigned them to your eldest brother. Are you going to try and take them from him? Your mother will find you better ones!”

Xiao Yao scoffed.

What could be better than what the older brother got?

Outsiders all say that the Duke's heir is utterly useless and good-for-nothing. But in the Duke's mansion, the eldest brother is the only one who is favored, while she and the fake have to step aside!

Yanqing broke out in a cold sweat, bowed, and withdrew.

He suddenly understood why Yanbai had so earnestly warned him to stay away from the inner quarters. The Duke's mansion was no longer what it used to be. Without their former masters, they were truly just servants whose fates were not their own.

The butterfly's wings finally gently set the gears of fate in motion.