mtl008 Chapter 3: Reborn?
Chapter 3: Reborn?
"What are you doing?"
A sharp voice came from behind.
The children then realized what had just happened. The younger boy was about to cry, but when he saw who it was, he held back his tears and looked at the newcomer with fear.
Granny Liu knelt down on the ground with a thud, "Lord Duke."
The surrounding area fell silent instantly.
"This servant...this servant is acting on the orders of the old lady to bring...to bring the young lady back to the manor," Liu Mama replied tremblingly, her head almost touching the ground.
Lu Yangyang turned around and looked up.
The Duke, her...father?
Duke Sheng had obviously noticed the only special one among the group, but when he saw Lu Yangyang's appearance, his already serious face became even colder. He was clearly surprised that his daughter, who had been living away from home, would have such an unexpected appearance.
He paused for a moment, then said calmly, "Now that you've brought them back, make sure they're settled in properly."
After saying that, he lifted his leg and strode away with his men.
Aside from that one quick glance, he didn't give Lu Yangyang a single extra look.
Lu Yangyang roughly understood why the "she" in her dream was so jealous. She had been an orphan since childhood and had once had some fantasies about her parents, but in just one encounter, the image of her "father" was shattered.
"How dare you hit me! I'll beat you to death!" The boy, who looked about six or seven years old and had a chubby face, charged at Lu Yangyang like a firecracker.
Lu Yangyang kicked him two meters away.
"Ah—Fifth Brother, help me!"
The situation spiraled out of control again.
"You... Men, seize her!" the handsome boy called Fifth Brother shouted angrily.
"Fifth Young Master, Fifth Young Master, the Old Madam is waiting. Let's go see the Old Madam first, and then we can ask her to make a decision..." Granny Liu crawled over on her knees and hugged the boy's legs, pleading.
Granny Liu originally wanted to help Lu Yangyang tidy up before meeting people, but now that they had made such a scene at the door and even bumped into the Duke, she didn't know how to handle the situation if they continued to cause trouble.
She dared not hesitate any longer and just wanted to get the person over there as soon as possible to report back.
"I'm going to make Grandma beat you to death, you ugly monster!" Several younger boys, as if they had found their backbone, shouted and ran into the yard.
Lu Yangyang followed them into the mansion, and after wandering around for about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the residence of the old lady, Madam Li, of the Duke's mansion, where it was bustling with activity.
Granny Liu led Lu Yangyang inside.
The noisy room fell silent in an instant.
Lu Yangyang stood in the hall, and more than a dozen gazes fell on her at once.
Disgust, contempt, disdain, sneer—all sorts of looks fell directly and undisguisedly upon Lu Yangyang, and some even secretly covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs.
Standing there, Lu Yangyang could probably imagine the timidity, humility, and helplessness of the "she" in her dream when faced with all of this.
"Kneel down!" Old Madam Li shouted at Lu Yangyang in a deep voice.
Lu Yangyang met her gaze without moving.
"How dare you! I took you in with all my heart because you suffered hardships growing up outside, and yet you show no gratitude and openly bully your own brother. The Sheng family has no family with such upbringing!" Old Madam Li's sharp gaze pierced Lu Yangyang.
"Insult?" Lu Yangyang laughed. "What the old lady said is true. Your good descendants blocked the door and beat and cursed me. It seems that I really am a member of your Sheng family, otherwise I would not have such upbringing."
"Sharp-tongued! Sharp-tongued!" Old Madam Li was instantly enraged, and the nanny beside her hurriedly went over to soothe her chest.
"Take her out, take her out! This woman has no respect for her elders and no regard for her younger siblings. Since she hasn't acknowledged them yet, there's no need to acknowledge them anymore!" Old Madam Li waved her hand, panting.
The rest of the people were gloating.
"My son!" At this moment, a beautiful woman with tears in her eyes was helped into the house. She looked at Lu Yangyang excitedly, and disregarding Lu Yangyang's tattered and disheveled appearance, she rushed over and hugged her tightly, crying out in despair, "My son!"
Lu Yangyang felt a fragrant breeze sweep over her, and she was pulled into a warm and soft embrace.
This is... her mother.
In her dream, there were only a handful of people who had good intentions towards her, but unfortunately, in the end, all that remained was disappointment.
So... there's nothing to look forward to.
Lu Yangyang pulled the person away with difficulty and said, "My name is Lu Yangyang."
The beautiful woman was stunned.
Then he asked cautiously, "What character is '央'?"
"Pfft—" A sneer came from somewhere, "Auntie, she grew up in the countryside, does she even know what characters look like?"
“Look at the Luo River, its waters flow vast and mighty.” Lu Yangyang looked expressionlessly at the sneering girl: “I may not be literate, but you probably haven’t studied the Book of Songs either.”
"You... you country bumpkin, what nonsense are you talking about!" The girl glared angrily at Lu Yangyang.
"Fourth sister, Mother has been so worried about Yangyang since she learned of her suffering that she fell ill. How can you say such things about Yangyang?" A gentle voice said, full of disapproval.
"Pfft, Third Sister, you'd better not interrupt when I'm talking about her in the future, otherwise, who knows who will be considered this country bumpkin? Don't you think so?"
Lu Yangyang glanced at the person who spoke, then her gaze fell on the girl who had come with her mother.
The third sister, the third daughter of the Duke's mansion, Sheng Yunzhu.
She had a beautiful face and was already quite tall and graceful at the age of thirteen, more than half a head taller than her.
Lu Yangyang met her eyes.
Those vague memories from childhood became clear in that instant.
“Zhuzhu is me, you are Caoya.”
Yes, before her wet nurse threw her into the mountains, she had a name: He Caoya.
This was also the name of the "Sheng Yunzhu" in her previous life. After being reborn, she knew that the Duke's mansion was coming, so from the time she could speak, she stole the name "Zhuzhu". Then she tricked her wet nurse into taking the bait for this substitution plan, ruined her appearance, and made her a "grass girl". Fearing that she would cause trouble, when the Duke's mansion came, she threw the three-year-old girl into the mountains to fend for herself.
How dare they show their face in front of her after hurting her like this!
In her dream, she was so jealous of Sheng Yunzhu that she went mad and did so many wrong things.
How can this be called jealousy!
This must be a deep-seated hatred.
"She's right. It's not certain who the term 'country bumpkin' refers to, is it?" Lu Yangyang stared intently at Sheng Yunzhu, uttering three words.
"He, Cao, Ya".
Sheng Yunzhu's face turned deathly pale. She suddenly took two steps back, staring at her in disbelief, as if she had seen a ghost.
"You, you..." Her lips trembled, her voice incoherent.
Lu Yangyang took two steps forward, stood on tiptoe, and whispered in her ear,
"You want to ask me if I, like you, was reborn?"