After her transformation and rebirth, she manipulates the innocent and ruthless to overthrow the wor

That is the memorial tablet of Yun Zhinian, Xiao Ran's mother and Xiao Mu's first wife.

Xiao Mu sighed deeply, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Zhinian... I'm sorry. Zihuai doesn't ask you to protect the General's Mansion. I only hope that you can protect Ran'er so that she can grow up safely and marry into a good family. Then I will have no worries."

Zi Huai was Xiao Mu's courtesy name.

Xiao Mu kowtowed again, but Xiao Ran remained motionless.

She stared at her mother's memorial tablet for a long time. It was spotless and read "Memorial Tablet of My Beloved Wife, Yun Shi, in My Heart".

Everything else is correct, but... is he really a loving wife?

She remembers that when she was a child, she lived with her mother in Xicun. Although life was hard, she grew up happily.

Aside from the matter of my father.

When she was little, her mother told her that she had a father who was a great general. From that day on, she waited every day for her great general father to come and take her and her mother to live a good life.

But as the days went by, she not only faced ridicule from her friends, but her mother's health also deteriorated day by day.

She came to hate the general after her mother died.

Later... just like in her previous life, the estrangement between her and her father was as insurmountable as a mountain, until she died in the Marquis's mansion.

Seeing that Xiao Ran was not moving for a long time, Xiao Mu was about to ask her what was wrong, but before he could ask, he heard hurried footsteps at the door.

The maidservant shouted from outside, "General, something terrible has happened! The lady has suddenly fainted!"

Xiao Mu was startled and immediately got up and left the ancestral hall, leaving Xiao Ran alone there.

It was quiet all around. A gust of wind that Xiao Mu had stirred when he left caused the candles to flicker, reflecting in Xiao Ran's lowered eyes.

"Mother, your daughter is unfilial and has never had a proper conversation with you."

“My daughter used to be very stupid. She didn’t live well after leaving her mother, not well at all…” Xiao Ran’s eyes slowly reddened. As the tears dripped onto the wooden board, she slowly wiped the corners of her eyes.

"Mother often said that her daughter didn't know how to socialize and worried about her a lot. But now that her daughter has made many friends, Mother can rest assured..."

"Mother... your daughter misses you."

After saying that, Xiao Ran kowtowed deeply.

As she got up, the firelight flickered again. Watching the wick sway, she suddenly laughed.

Mother, can you hear me?

……

She composed herself, got up, left the ancestral hall, and went to He's house.

From a distance, the door was not closed, and three people could be seen inside. Among them, Xiao Mu was standing by He Shi's bedside with a concerned expression.

The other woman's face was not visible; she only knew that she was wearing a light pink dress.

She strode in and called out, "Father, how is Aunt?"

But before they even got close, they saw the owner of the lotus root pink dress.

Round almond-shaped eyes, skin as white as snow.

He Wan!

Xiao Ran stared intently at He Wan, unable to move for even a moment, until even Xiao Mu and Madam He found it strange.

He Wan spoke first. Her voice was clear and crisp, but her eyes showed a hint of timidity. She said, "This must be Sister Xiao Ran."

Madam He coughed twice and introduced, "Wan'er, why don't you quickly greet your sister Ran?"

He Wan immediately bowed obediently, glancing at Xiao Mu with her bright eyes, "Greetings, Sister Ran."

Xiao Mu continued, "Ran'er, this is He Wan, the daughter of your aunt's distant cousin and childhood friend. Your aunt fainted because she heard the bad news about her childhood friend."

He looked at He Wan with sympathy. This woman was about the same age as his Ran'er, but she had lost her family at a young age and had been wandering the world ever since, just like Ran'er a few years ago.

Moreover, she came to the mansion with a cane, which shows how miserable she was, and she often had a smile on her lips—which, in his eyes, was nothing more than a forced, bitter smile.

"Ran'er, your aunt and I have discussed it and we're thinking of taking her in..."

"I disagree!"