An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The night falls early in winter. The Sang Family Ancestral Hall is located at the westernmost end of the entire Sang Mansion. Once dark, there is almost no one coming and going outside. Sang Ling led the hungry Ya Nu around the hall several times, but in the end they could not find a place to go out.

She didn't know what time it was. The wind was howling outside and even the sound of the clappers could not be heard. The master and servant snuggled in the corner and comforted each other. Sang Ling put aside her previous sorrow and was too lazy to think about the love affairs. She only wondered how they should live if no food and water were sent to her tomorrow.

She could still hold on without food, but without water, it would be very difficult. No matter how cruel Sang Wu was, she would not do this. Could it be that she really wanted to lock her own daughter to death in the ancestral hall? Or was it actually Ma's tricks behind this? Was she really not afraid of causing death? Although she did not approve of the marriage between the Xun family and the Nie family, didn't Sang Wu know what was going on? If the Nie family came to the door, how would they hand over her if she was already dead?

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard a dull voice above her head. Ya Nu suddenly hid in her arms. When Sang Ling looked up, he saw A Shan's face sticking out of the window, "Young Master, the young master asked me to bring some food over."

Fortunately, he was small in stature, so he pried open the mullioned window above his head and came in by bending down.

The purse was spread out, revealing a bamboo box and two leather bags filled with drinking water. Sang Ling opened the bag and let Ya Nu drink first. He took a few sips of the water to moisten his throat before asking how A Shan got in. After all, it was in the Taiwei Mansion, and the security was tight. How could he, a slave from another mansion, just come in in the middle of the night?

"There are a few cooks in the backyard who had a good relationship with the young master, so we dragged them in. Don't worry about that, just eat something quickly." Ashan's hometown is in the north, and he speaks with an accent from time to time.

Sang Ling smiled gently, and subconsciously wanted to ask his cousin a few questions, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to ask. He was rejected early in the morning, and now he was being treated kindly by others. What was this?

She lowered her head and was silent. Perhaps Ah Shan noticed her, so he rubbed his palms a few times and then smiled happily, "The young master talked about this with the female head of the family in the evening. He said he wanted to take you back to live with him."

The lights in the corner of the wall swayed gently, and the shadows of the three people became clear on the floor tiles. Sang Ling blinked and saw his own shadow trembling slightly under the light. Although he did not say anything, the waves in his heart could not be controlled. If he took her back to Gao's house, what would be the reason? His cousin already knew that Mrs. Dong had come to visit him, so why did he take her back at this critical moment?

She slowly shifted her gaze to the Sang family ancestral tablet behind the gauze curtain. She couldn't help but lose her concentration and recalled her conversation with Gao Heng early in the morning. Suddenly, she had no thoughts at all.

She couldn't understand Gao Heng's thoughts, so what did this mean?

Ashan didn't stay long. After the master and servant finished eating, he cleaned up the tableware and went out quickly.

Ya Nu had been hungry for a long time and had just eaten a big meal. She fell asleep after sitting for a while. She was dizzy from eating. Sang Ling didn't eat much and didn't dare to drink too much water. He was afraid that there would be no place to go to the toilet, so he was still awake and leaned against the wall and fell into a trance again.

In fact, since she came here, her path has always been clear. Even if she was confused, it was only for a few moments. She thought she was in control of her future. Whether it was the general direction or the specific goal set as time passed, she could always see the way forward clearly, and she firmly believed that if she walked steadily, she would not end up with an ugly result - she would not be like Yuan Sangling, who was manipulated by others and eventually committed suicide.

But just that one night, she hesitated for several times, and suddenly felt that everything in front of her began to become unclear.

Indeed, she yearned for her cousin and the Gao family, and wanted to risk her life to marry Gao Heng, become the next Gao family wife, and spend the rest of her life with her cousin without worries. But her cousin had already rejected her, and had just mentioned his marriage with the Zhou family girl in the morning. Why did he change his mind and take her back in the evening?

Or is it just out of pity?

In fact, if it was really out of pity, as long as the final result was the same, she would not bother about it. Anyway, as long as she could marry into the Gao family, what else was she pursuing? Didn't she want to return to the Gao family and continue her carefree life?

But I couldn't help but think about it further, and conflicts arose in my heart.

If it was out of pity, then she would rather not have such a relationship.

I don't know when I closed my eyes. When I woke up, Ya Nu was already looking for a blanket beside me. Frost appeared at sunrise in the early morning. The charcoal wood in the house was burned out. Sang Ling's body trembled twice, and he suddenly woke up. He called Ya Nu to kneel back to the hall together.

When it was bright outside, she heard two birds chirping from the eaves, and servants walked back and forth on the corridor, starting the morning cleaning. She led the lady to close her eyes and rest, and there was not much noise.

After a while, she heard an especially heavy sound of footsteps stopping at the door. She slowly opened her eyes, her thick eyelashes casting shadows on her cheekbones. She turned her head and looked at the person who opened the door under the scorching sunlight.

This was the attendant who followed Sang Wu. His name was Zhuang Zheng. She recognized him. He usually stayed with Sang Wu and rarely walked around in the backyard of the inner house. She could only be seen occasionally at family dinners.

But didn't Sang Wu always ignore the affairs of the inner house and leave them to Ma to handle? Or was it because the ancestral hall was in a special location, so Sang Wu called on the people around him?

She followed the attendant out of the ancestral hall and went all the way to Qiu Garden. Later, several maids came in and brought her clean clothes and jewelry. The front door of the bedroom was closed. The leading maid took two steps forward and led the people to help her change into new clothes. Zhuang Zheng waited on the corridor with his hands clasped together, without saying a word the whole time.

The maids in the house were also quiet, as if they had been specially instructed. Sang Ling and Ya Nu exchanged glances, each confused. It was not until she washed up, changed her clothes, and put on new makeup on her face that they guessed most of it - either the Xun family came again, or her aunt brought her cousin over?

But if it was someone from the Xun family, Sang Wu should have directly declined the gift of the bracelet from Madam Zhaoyu, and there was no need to ask her to come out. Or was it someone from the Nie family who came to the door?

Which group of people are they?

If it was her aunt, how would they tell Sang Wu? She shook her heavy head, trying to get rid of these thoughts, but the light from the gold pieces of her hairpin reflected in the mirror, like an invisible hand grabbing her, forcing her to think.

She had no choice but to focus her eyes on it.

The daughter in the mirror now is completely different from when she came, especially after putting on makeup, she is like two different people. She still remembers that when she first came, she also looked at herself in the mirror like this, but at that time she was just simply sad, with only one emotion lingering in her heart, which was still one-sided and thin, and could be quickly dispersed.

But now her heart seemed to have turned into a deep well, so complicated that even she could not see the bottom and could only look at darkness.

If the Nie family came, she thought, there would be no turning back.

But if her aunt came to propose marriage, she couldn't accept it without any burden. She didn't care about the feelings whether she married Xun Jin or Nie Ce. It was the same for women in ancient times. As long as it made her life less difficult, it was enough. She was rational enough not to care about love. But if she married Gao Heng, it would be different. She was stubborn and paranoid, wanting to pursue a pure relationship.

Otherwise, I would be wronged not only myself but also my cousin.

A cough was heard at the door, indicating that it was time to go out.

The maids quickened their movements, inserted a wooden hairpin, and tied up the last hair bun. Ya Nu followed behind, never taking her eyes off the young lady from beginning to end - ever since the young lady lost weight, she knew how beautiful she was, and she knew how beautiful she would be after she put on makeup. But today, when she was dressed so simply, she truly saw the beauty of the young lady. It turned out that she was suitable for such an almost plain makeup.

The servant and the master had completely different thoughts. One was still worried about who the visitor from Langxiang Pavilion was, while the other was already thinking about his new makeup.