This Is My Daughter

The maid waiting by the carriage door saw the two women emerge and hurriedly reached out to help them down one by one.

Xu Xi and her two companions were staring wide-eyed at Matron Li when they saw someone alight from the carriage. They all looked over and saw Lady Wei, dressed in a purple silk gown.

Lady Wei was in her thirties, but she had taken good care of herself and still looked very young. She had a round face, round almond eyes, and a rather small mouth. Hers was a sweet, adorable sort of beauty, and apart from a nose that lacked height, she was quite pretty. She was petite. Had she been a dozen or so years younger, her looks would have been very endearing.

Once they saw Lady Wei clearly, Xu Yongyi and Xu Xi exchanged glances. They finally understood why Matron Li had asked whether Xu Xue was Xu Xi.

Xu Xue had a sweet sort of beauty. Although her features did not look much like Lady Wei's, her round face, large eyes, and the pair of dimples that appeared in her cheeks when she smiled bore some resemblance to her.

Xu Xi, by contrast, had slightly upturned phoenix eyes. They were not large, but they were lively, and because her face was small and melon-seed-shaped, her eyes appeared large. She had a high, straight nose, full, rosy lips, and a tall, slender figure. In short, hers was a radiant, striking beauty, and she was brimming with youthful vitality. She was an entirely different type from a petite, sweet woman like Lady Wei; not a single feature of her face or figure resembled Lady Wei's.

It was somewhat plausible to say Xu Xue was Lady Wei's daughter, but anyone who saw Xu Xi would have doubted that she was Lady Wei's daughter.

Unless Xu Xi looked like Zhao Yuanliang.

Lady Wei's gaze also moved back and forth between Xu Xi and Xu Xue before finally settling on Xu Xue.

Excitement showed on her face, and with hope in her eyes, she called to Xu Xue, "Miss Xi?"

Xu Xue was even more bewildered now.

She clutched Xu Xi's arm and shrank back, wishing she could hide behind her.

Xu Yongyi frowned, stepped forward, and pointed at Xu Xi. "This is Miss Xi. That is my daughter, Xu Xue."

Lady Wei's body jolted. She looked at Xu Xue, then at Xu Xi in disbelief. The eager hope in her eyes dimmed at once, and a flicker of panic flashed through them.

"Impossible. That's impossible." She suddenly stepped forward and seized Xu Xue's arm. "How could I fail to recognize my own daughter? This is my daughter. Don't even think of passing off a fish for a dragon and swapping my daughter away again."

She was highly agitated, as though she had seized a life-saving straw.

Lady Wei's grip hurt Xu Xue so badly that she cried out in fright, "Ah, I'm not!" Yet she did not dare pry Lady Wei's hand away. She looked at Xu Xi, her voice trembling with tears. "Sister, hurry and explain it to her. I'm not. I'm my father and mother's daughter."

Xu Mingsheng, the son of the clan chief Xu Chengguan, had come with his father again today. He had been standing at the courtyard gate, keeping an eye on both Lady Wei and Zhao Yuanliang. He was also rather curious about the women and maids from the marquis's residence and had been secretly observing what they did.

When Xu Xi and her two companions got out of the carriage and Matron Li spotted them, he spotted them too. He hurried into the courtyard as though he had found a treasure and reported to Zhao Yuanliang and his father.

Zhao Yuanliang and Xu Chengguan's group had reached the point where they had nothing left to say to one another. Exhausted in body and mind, he was wondering whether to return to the carriage for a rest when he heard Xu Mingsheng's report. Overjoyed, he stood and hurried out, arriving just in time to see Lady Wei gripping Xu Xue in agitation as Xu Xue shrank back in terror.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

Seeing him arrive, Lady Wei turned and said, "My lord, come quickly! They're trying to swap our daughter again."

"What?" Zhao Wuliang was startled. Forgetting his dignity, he jogged over to Lady Wei, looked at Xu Xi and Xu Xue, and asked, "What happened?"

"This is our daughter. But he insists she isn't and says this one is." Lady Wei still held fast to Xu Xue's arm.

Not only Xu Xue, but Xu Yongyi and Xu Xi were utterly bewildered as well.

System, get the hell out here, Xu Xi shouted in her head. What on earth is going on? This never happened in the original plot, and it never said I wasn't Lady Wei's daughter!

The system's voice came from inside her head, and judging by its tone, it was bewildered too. "No, no, it didn't. In the original plot, as soon as the people from the marquis's residence came to fetch her, Xu Xi went back with Matron Ruan. Nothing like this happened at all."

When it finished, it seemed to find its footing and abruptly grew self-righteous. In an accusing tone, it said, "See? I told you not to stir things up, but you insisted! If you'd obediently gone back to the marquis's residence with those people yesterday, none of this would have happened today, would it?"

Hmph! Xu Xi sneered. That wasn't what you said when we came out of the women's academy today.

The system immediately played dead and fell silent.

Although she could not count on the system in this matter, its answer at least confirmed that Xu Xi had not misremembered the plot.

Meanwhile, after hearing Lady Wei's words, Zhao Yuanliang looked Xu Xue over several times, then studied Xu Xi, his expression caught between surprise and doubt.

Xu Chengguan and Zhang Chenglin had come out with Zhao Yuanliang, though they were a few steps behind.

Hearing this, the two of them also began scrutinizing Xu Xue and Xu Xi.

A few more villagers who knew Xu Yongyi had returned had gathered to watch the commotion. Now everyone looked at Xu Xue and Xu Xi.

Xu Xi was all right, but when had Xu Xue ever faced such a scene? More than a dozen pairs of eyes were fixed on her, making her skin crawl. She wished she could bury her face in Xu Xi's back. Yet Lady Wei still had hold of her and would not let go.

"Let go of her first," Xu Xi said to Lady Wei.

Lady Wei loathed the girl who claimed to be "Miss Xi" to the utmost. By now, she had also calmed down from the excitement she had felt upon seeing Xu Xue.

She gave Xu Xi a contemptuous look. "What, are you going to tell me you're my daughter? Why don't you look in a mirror and see whether you look anything like me?"

Then she looked haughtily at Xu Yongyi. "You dare pass off a fake as the real thing and muddle the marquis's bloodline again. Aren't you afraid the authorities will come and arrest you? Do you really think that because our residence didn't pursue what happened in the past, we're soft persimmons for you to squeeze?"

She turned and instructed Steward Liu, "Go report this to the authorities. Have them come and arrest them."

Seeing that things were going badly, Xu Chengguan hurried forward to intervene. "Second Madam, let's talk this over, let's talk this over."

"Yes, yes, perhaps it's a misunderstanding?" Zhang Chenglin said too.

For something like this to happen in the area under his jurisdiction was a great loss of face for him as village head. Not to mention that he wanted to cling to the marquis's residence's powerful thigh, establish a connection with it, and thereby get to know more people in the capital.

Thinking this, he decided to persuade Xu Yongyi. What did it matter which girl went to the marquis's residence? Wouldn't it be even better if Xu Yongyi's own daughter went? Wouldn't it benefit his whole family? If Xu Yongyi had any wit, couldn't he just push the boat along with the current?

He winked urgently at Xu Yongyi while saying to Zhao Yuanliang, "Second Master, why don't we all go inside and discuss this? All this shouting out here isn't proper, after all."