The Duke's return naturally stirred everyone in the mansion.
The steward and servants hurried out to welcome him. More surprisingly, the Duchess, Zhu Man, who had long been bedridden, forced herself to come to the front hall with a maid supporting her. Her face was pale, her features marked by illness and a gloom that would not lift.
When she saw Dai Youheng walking in right behind Dai Hao, a flicker of astonishment and barely perceptible darkness crossed her sickly face.
She had never expected the son her husband had specially brought home today to be this concubine-born child she had never thought worthy of her notice!
A little farther behind the Duchess stood a beautiful middle-aged woman with a gentle bearing, along with a boy who looked even younger than Huo Yuhao, his eyes filled with curiosity and timidity.
They were Bai Wanning, the birth mother of Dai Youheng's original self, and his younger brother, Dai Luoli.
"Husband, you're back." The Duchess, Zhu Man, rallied her spirits and managed a faint smile.
"My respects, my lord husband." Bai Wanning immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully in greeting, keeping her posture exceedingly humble.
The gulf in status between the principal wife and a secondary wife was laid bare in those greetings.
Seeing his wife come out despite her illness, Dai Hao frowned slightly. "Manman, you're unwell. There's no need to come out to welcome me yourself. You should be resting."
Then he turned to Bai Wanning, his tone softening somewhat. "Wanning, thank you for all the effort you've put into looking after Manman lately."
The Duchess's full name was Zhu Man, and she belonged to the Zhu Family's direct line. Although Dai Youheng's birth mother, Bai Wanning, also came from nobility, hers was merely a minor noble family. She lived