After being reborn, I became the apple of my enemy's eye.

She spoke softly and walked towards the bed.

The old woman took the things she had brought from her hands.

The concubine watched as Yan Yun took off his embroidered shoes and slowly lifted the beaded curtain.

On the bed, the little face is now gradually opening up. This is the child she gave birth to. When she was little, she was not even as long as her arm when she held her. Now she is almost up to her waist.

The concubine had so much to say, but she didn't know how to begin.

But after seeing that face more closely, her expression changed as quickly as turning the pages of a book, from gentleness to incomprehension, then to surprise, and finally to panic and fear.

Her hand, which was clutching the handkerchief, fell limply to her side, and she turned to look at the old woman.

A startling statement.

"Mother, why doesn't she look like me?"

The word "mother" made the old woman tremble. How dare she call out like that here?

She glanced at Yan Yun, who showed no reaction, then immediately turned to look outside the door. She walked to the door and instructed the maids who were preparing water in the courtyard: "Madam has something to say to Miss. You all go and keep watch outside the courtyard."

"Yes."

Once the maids had all left, the old woman was also somewhat flustered. She hurried back to the room, closed the door, and turned to the concubine, utterly bewildered: "Madam, how many times have I reminded you? Why don't you ever listen? Do you even know what you're saying?"

The fear and terror on the concubine's face had not yet disappeared.

Her trembling finger pointed in Yan Yun's direction.

“She, she…”

The old woman was annoyed that she couldn't even speak a complete sentence clearly. "Madam, do you know what kind of person you are now?"

The concubine looked at her and said, "Go and take a look."

With suspicion, the nanny lifted the beaded curtain. Yan Yun's small face was closed, resting peacefully. The blanket was rising and falling, indicating normal breathing.

She turned to look at the concubine, puzzled.

"Madam, what has made you so flustered?"

The concubine immediately stepped forward and grabbed the old woman's hand.

She was somewhat incoherent, saying, "Granny, look at her face."

The old woman was still puzzled. "I checked, there's no injury. What's wrong?"

The concubine felt a chill run down her spine and uttered a startling question: "Don't you think her face doesn't resemble mine at all?"

The old woman felt that the lady had gone mad. Who else could her child resemble but her? "What nonsense are you talking about? If the child doesn't resemble you, then it must resemble an adult."

"Take a closer look."

The old woman frowned as she listened to the concubine's words. She looked at Yan Yun more closely. With his small nose and lips, wasn't he very good-looking?

From the moment the doctor diagnosed her pregnancy and her belly began to swell, to the final delivery, the concubine was present throughout the entire process. How could it not be suspicious? Could her own granddaughter, whom she had personally raised, be switched? Absolutely impossible.

"Madam, please don't talk nonsense."

The concubine was also anxious. She reached out and lifted the beaded curtain, pointed at Yan Yun, and said in a hurried tone, "Look at her face, she doesn't look like me at all."

The old woman looked at the child again carefully. The child was still young and it was impossible to tell who she resembled. "If the adults like her, she must look more like them."

The concubine shook her head.

"Do not."

The nanny felt that the concubines were not distinguished clearly.

What's needed now is to maintain the relationship between yourself and your child, not to make them resemble someone else.

Unable to receive comfort from the nanny, and also because the nanny didn't understand her meaning, the concubine couldn't help but say directly, "Her face looks like Yan Yun's."

The old woman was taken aback, then frowned. She looked at Yan Yun on the bed. If she were to say that he was Yan Yun, it would be absurd. He had been flustered for days because he was worried about the master.

"Don't say such nonsense again. If the adults hear you, how will you explain it? Calm down, and remember never to say such things again."

The concubine glared at the old woman and demanded, "Don't you think it looks like her? It's clearly my child, but that face is just like that dead woman's. I want to strangle her."

The concubine, somewhat delirious, uttered such terrifying words.

The old woman could no longer hold back.

She raised her hand and slapped the concubine across the face.

The old woman looked at her foolish, nonsensical daughter with her icy face.

"Snapped."

A loud thud.

The concubine turned her head away, not yet reacting.

The old woman reached out and pressed down on her shoulder.

"If you are tired, come back with me to rest."

The concubine raised her hand to cover her face, tears welling in her eyes.

The old woman's face hardened: "Don't mention the dead one again. Have you forgotten that we watched her body being disposed of together? Those wild dogs gnawed on her body, even the bones were taken away. Don't you remember?"

The concubine will never forget, but she will never forget you.

"I haven't forgotten, but that child, no matter how I look at her, she doesn't look like me at all..."

"My child," the concubine didn't utter those four words.

Because Zheng Jihua had arrived outside the door.

"grown ups."

The moment the maids spoke, the concubine straightened her hunched back.

The old woman sighed and immediately recovered.

She reached out and touched her concubine's face. She hadn't used too much force; the concubine's skin was delicate and smooth, and thankfully, no marks were left.

"Madam, please remember not to mention what you just said in front of the adults. That person is dead and that's it. Her family has also disappeared completely. So, Madam, you don't need to worry about that woman coming back to find you."

The concubine looked at the old woman. She wasn't angry that the old woman had hit her, but she didn't understand why the old woman didn't believe her.

The old woman had just finished saying the last sentence.

Zheng Jihua had already pushed open the door and walked in from the outside.

The old woman immediately withdrew her hand from the concubine's face and lowered her head.

When Zheng Jihua entered the room and saw the concubine and the old nanny standing there, his mood improved considerably.

He hadn't reminded her before he came to see Ning'er, which made him somewhat satisfied.

His voice softened considerably, "Has Ning'er woken up?"

The old woman nudged the concubine who was still lost in thought.

The concubine immediately went over to Zheng Jihua and said that he was still sleeping.

She had completely lost her previous hysterical attitude, and when she was with Zheng Jihua, she was always gentle and refined, like a little woman.

She looked at the tray that Zheng Jihua brought over, took it, and placed it on the table. On it was still steaming hot porridge.

Zheng Jihua said, "I asked the cook to make this. Go and wake Ning'er up, and I'll feed her some."

The concubine glanced back and gently comforted Zheng Jihua, saying, "Ning'er is still sleeping, so let's not wake her up yet. I'll feed her when she wakes up. She's been quite tired from the journey, so let her rest more."

Zheng Jihua thought about it and agreed.

"That's fine too, it must be very tiring."

Despite the many people talking inside the room, she showed no signs of waking up.

Zheng Jihua walked to the bedside, reached out and touched Yan Yun's back, patting him gently.

He changed his tone when speaking to the concubine.

“Before, Ning’er was raised by her mother. Because of her mother, you, as Ning’er’s mother, didn’t spend much time with her. Now that she’s by your side, you need to take better care of her.”

The concubine said, "Of course, my husband, you don't need to worry. I will take good care of Ning'er and will never let you have any worries."

Zheng Jihua withdrew his hand from Yan Yun's back and reached out.

The concubine immediately reached out her hand, which Zheng Jihua grasped in his palm.

They didn't even care whether the old woman was still there.

He pressed his face against his concubine's hand and said, "To me, you are the most important people. I would do anything for you."

The concubine was deeply moved. She looked at Zheng Jihua and replied, "My husband and Ning'er are everything to me."

Their intimate conversation silenced Yan Yun, who lay in bed. Whether he heard them talking about his past self or his present self, Yan Yun didn't think about where his past self was. As his concubine said, he was dead.

But now, learning from these two that her body had vanished without a trace, even her bones had been carried away by wild dogs, she couldn't understand what she had done wrong. She had never harbored any resentment towards the concubine; it was all for the sake of becoming the principal wife.

Or was Zheng Jihua's tacit approval of his death?

If he had even a shred of affection for her, how could he have allowed her to be reduced to ashes?

For over ten years, she's not even as good as raising a dog. At least a dog knows to show affection to her.

Unfortunately, she ended up with Zheng Jihua, that scoundrel.

Yan Yun closed his eyes, clutching the blanket covering him tightly. The more he spent with these two hypocritical fellows, the more he saw through their pretense.

The concubine's passionate affair with Zheng Jihua didn't last long; he remembered he still had to go to the academy to make arrangements.

"I also want to go to Baima Academy."

The concubine looked up at Zheng Jihua, her eyes sparkling. "Husband, perhaps we could hire a tutor to come to our home and teach Ning'er?"

The old woman looked up after hearing this and thought to herself, "Oh no, why would someone say that?"

The concubine's original intention was actually to have the master come to the mansion to teach Ning'er, so that she could take care of her from the side. After all, she was a woman and it was not appropriate for her to take the lead in many things.

But in Zheng Jihua's eyes, he was used to guessing.

He looked at his concubine and said somewhat displeasedly, "Do you think our daughter can't go out?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the concubine immediately explained that that was not what she meant, but even with her explanation, Zheng Jihua was already furious.

The fickle Zheng Jihua said to his concubine, "The academy has been taken care of. You don't need to do anything. I've already told you what you should do. Just take good care of Ning'er."

After saying that, he pushed the concubine away.

The concubine nearly fell to the ground, stammering as she chased after Zheng Jihua, saying, "Husband, did I say something wrong?"