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

"do I look good?"

Xiao Ran suddenly looked up and asked softly, a hint of playfulness in her eyes. This seemingly random question snapped Xiao Mu back to reality, his mind filled with unspoken thoughts reflected in his daughter Qingling's gaze.

He then took a closer look at the person in front of him. The moon-white brocade robe fit her slender figure perfectly, and the rouge-red cloak was trimmed with silver fox fur, which made her face look as white as snow and glowing with rosy light—this was the fabric he had chosen at Jinyunfang that day.

But what touched her heart most was the pendant at her waist. Twenty years of wear and tear had veiled the jade's surface with a layer of mist, but now, as she twirled it, it shone with a warm light, just like the emerald green that leaped from the hem of her pomegranate skirt when Nian'er turned around under the paulownia tree.

Xiao Mu's fingertips suddenly gripped the edge of the table, and his guilt reached its peak in an instant.

"It's so beautiful..." He didn't know how to express his feelings at that moment, which were a mixture of sadness and excitement.

"Father." Xiao Ran suddenly lowered her eyes, her fingertips gently tracing the silver thread embroidery of intertwined branches on her cloak. The flickering candlelight cast tiny gold flakes between her eyelashes, making her voice sound muffled.

"Sometimes I wonder, with my mother's personality, would she be happy living underground? Would she be bullied by others...?"

"But sometimes I think, my mother is a strong person."

In her memory, her mother sat beside the chipped oil lamp, the silver needle piercing through the plain silk with a soft, rustling sound. Moonlight streamed in through the leaky window paper, falling on her early graying temples, shining even brighter than the mandarin ducks on the embroidery frame.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mu was filled with unbearable sorrow. He had joined the army so that Nian'er and her unborn child could have a better life. But when he achieved great military merit and rose to the rank of Grand General, all that awaited him were Nian'er's remains and his young daughter.

He was filled with remorse, feeling that his sins were unforgivable...

"So, Father, I don't want Wan to suffer like I did before. I only hope that Wan can integrate into our family as soon as possible."

To an outsider, these words might have evoked sympathy for He Wan's plight. But after Xiao Ran's earlier foreshadowing, Xiao Mu felt only boundless pity for his daughter.

“Alright! Ran’er, don’t worry. Father will go to the palace tomorrow to invite the tutoring nanny! Just…” He pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and continued, “Let’s invite the nanny Yang who taught Ran’er before.”

Xiao Ran's lips curled up slightly, and then she raised her head, her eyes shining brightly.

"Okay! Thank you, Father."

……

On the way back to the courtyard, Chun Tao followed behind Xiao Ran. But as they walked, she noticed that the girl's pace was becoming more and more hurried, and she couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Although today is the Little New Year, shocking news has arrived: He Wan has become the second daughter of the household.

Chun Tao had sensed that He Wan was no ordinary person, but she never imagined that He Wan had obtained this identity through some unknown means. At the time, she thought that her young lady would be in a terrible mood, perhaps even with a dark expression, and might even argue with the general.

But the truth is, none of that happened, and my daughter seems to be in a pretty good mood?

She coughed lightly and called out cautiously, "Miss?"

Xiao Ran seemed to sense something, stopped and turned around: "What's wrong, Chun Tao? Your voice was too soft, I didn't hear you."

"Aren't you sad, young lady?"

Xiao Ran was taken aback, then realized what Chun Tao was talking about. She shook her head slightly, saying nonchalantly:

"I'm not sad." She raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of laughter.

"Chuntao, you must know that life is like a boat sailing on the water. The journey there is easy, but the return may not be so easy."