latelenovela Chapter 754 World 32
Chapter 754 World 32
“Yinyin, this matter is too important, I can’t answer you right now,” Su Wan’er said. “Let me go back and think about it, I need to think it over carefully.”
Shen Ruyin replied, "Sister Wan'er, you should think it over carefully. Even if I am going to leave, I will have to wait a while to settle things at home and entrust them to someone else."
Then she joked, "Originally I wanted to ask Sister Wan'er to help me look after the house, but now I'm afraid I'll have to find someone else."
Whether Su Wan'er ultimately decides to go with her to seek immortality or to the Ninghou Mansion, it's not something she can stay in the village for long.
Su Wan'er forced a smile, but she could hardly concentrate on weeding.
Shen Ruyin achieved her goal of going up the mountain, and didn't put her excuse aside.
This place was close to the mountains and forests. Shen Ruyin wandered around the edge, picked up some fallen twigs, and gathered a few wild vegetables before heading back with her small basket.
Uncle Zhao noticed that she hadn't taken anything with her, so he gave up on the idea of having his eldest son take her there.
Back home, Shen Ruyin washed the wild vegetables she had picked, added some flour to make pancakes, picked some vegetables from the back of the house, chopped them up and mixed them in, and that was her meal.
Although her meals looked simple, they were considered quite good for an ordinary family at that time.
Some families in the village, either with large households or those who were not good at managing their finances, were even reluctant to add the extra flour she provided, instead using bean flour or flour made from dried wild vegetables to make up the difference.
It wasn't that Shen Ruyin couldn't afford to eat better, but in the village, she was a girl living alone, and if she cooked meat all day long, she would just be waiting for people to come and cause her trouble.
To make life easier, Shen Ruyin was frugal in many ways and rarely dared to light a fire at home to cook meat.
The Su family next door usually did the same thing, but today, while Shen Ruyin was eating, she smelled the aroma of meat coming from next door.
The Su family set out their meal in the courtyard. Shen Ruyin was close to the window and could hear them talking.
Aunt Su spoke to Su Wan'er with unusual gentleness: "Wan'er, although your family has come looking for you, you must remember that it is our Su family that has raised you for more than ten years."
"Even if you become a rich heiress someday, you still have to take care of your family, understand?"
Uncle Su chimed in, playing the good cop: "Wan'er has always been obedient and well-behaved, why are you nagging about this?"
"Come on, Wan'er, eat some meat. Your mother specially cooked this for you."
Su Xiaodi immediately shouted, "That biggest piece is the one I wanted, Dad, you can't give it to her!"
Brother Su stopped her, saying, "Your sister is just eating a piece of meat, what are you doing?"
“She’s not my sister, why should she eat our meat?” Little Su was young, but he spoke eloquently. “We’ve raised her for so many years for nothing, she should be the one buying meat for us!”
"What are you saying?" Aunt Su said reproachfully, then added naturally, "When your sister Wan'er goes home, she'll definitely buy you lots of meat to eat."
"Wan'er, don't you think so?"
Shen Ruyin was getting annoyed and also noticed that Su Wan'er hadn't said a word the whole time.
After the meal, it's time for the villagers to go out and socialize.
Their usual hideout was at the village entrance, but today quite a few people tacitly went to the Su family's house.
"Miss Su, I heard that your Wan'er isn't your daughter, but a rich young lady. Is that true?"
"They've come to us in person, how could it be fake?"
"Then your family is going to be very prosperous in the future! I always said that Wan'er is a good-looking girl, unlike the other girls in our village."
The people were all talking at once, and the topic was all about Su Wan'er.
Aunt Su was still a little uneasy. That's why she said those things to warn Su Wan'er today, and she even specially cooked meat to win her over, hoping that Su Wan'er would speak well of her family after she went to Su Wan'er's house.
Another plan was that they didn't need to bring their biological daughter back, and could continue living a good life. In the future, with the influence of the Marquis's mansion, they wouldn't have to support anyone and would have another way to make money.
The Su family had a shrewd plan, so naturally they wouldn't let others speak ill of them, and they readily uttered boastful words.
"No matter how good her looks are, it's because our family raised her well. We dote on Wan'er the most."
Aunt Su proudly spoke of how well the Su family treated Su Wan'er, not noticing that many people had fallen silent.
After those people left the Su family and passed by the Shen family's gate, Shen Ruyin still heard someone whispering.
"Given the state of her family, they still dote on Wan'er; she's clearly being treated like the worst servant."
The person speaking to the Su family said, "Which family's daughter doesn't help with chores? Wan'er just does a lot of work. The Su family hasn't abandoned her; they've raised her well. Look at that family in the neighboring village; they have their own daughter, and what kind of life are they living?"
The man said earlier, "The Su family often leaves Su Wan'er alone on the mountain. How do you know it's because they never intended to abandon her, or because she's just lucky enough to survive?"
"I knew the Su family's attitude towards Su Wan'er had been strange all these years. They treated her like a servant, yet they seemed hesitant to scold or beat her. Could it be that they already knew she wasn't their biological daughter?"
"Or was it when the child was switched..."
"What a pity," Shen Ruyin thought, "they left too quickly; I didn't get to hear what they were saying after that."
Did that person ever suspect that the Su family had deliberately switched the children?
Feeling a little uneasy, Shen Ruyin drifted off to sleep.
The next day, the village was much livelier than usual. Many people didn't go to the fields, but instead paid attention to the movements at the village entrance and the Su family's house.
As for the Su family, none of them went out; they all stayed home and waited.
The old woman from the Ninghou Mansion didn't keep them waiting in vain; she arrived in a donkey cart, accompanied by an old woman with her hands tied behind her back and her hair disheveled.
The donkey cart arrived at the Su family's gate, and the villagers who loved to watch the excitement followed along the way, but none of them dared to speak because of the old woman's imposing manner.
The maid who followed the carriage knocked on the Su family's door: "Is Madam Su home?"
With a creak, the Su family's door opened, and Shen Ruyin propped the ladder against a tree in the yard, taking advantage of the shade to secure a good spot.
The old woman, who had been so arrogant and dismissive, stepped off the donkey cart, and her expression immediately changed.
"Madam Su, we agreed yesterday that when you come again, you should bring that villain with you. Look, isn't it her?"
Ordinary people wouldn't remember someone they barely met twelve years ago, but Aunt Su, after taking a few careful looks after stepping outside, immediately exclaimed, "It's her, it's her!"
Aunt Su reached out to hit the old woman: "It was you, it was you, you old hag, who swapped my daughter!"
With a single glance from the old woman of the Ninghou Mansion, someone stepped forward to stop Aunt Su.
The old woman then asked, "Would you also like to come and identify the rest of your family members?"
“No need to acknowledge her,” Aunt Su refused outright. “I would recognize her even if she were ashes.”
The old woman from the Ninghou mansion laughed: "That would be best."
"Since Madam Su has recognized the wicked, would you be so kind as to allow us to see my young lady?"