The fake daughter of a fallen ghost is reborn

Jiang Xu didn't expect Xue Zhiyi to come looking for him on his own initiative.

From the first time she met Xue Zhiyi at Chunji, she felt that she had seen this face somewhere. It was a long time before she remembered that her face was three points similar to A Niang.

But she is the daughter of a minister, a noble lady from a wealthy family, and she has her own parents. Even if she looks a little similar, what relationship does she have with their family?

It was not until later, when something happened to the Xue family, that he learned that Xue Zhiyi and Xue Zhentong were not biological father and daughter. He became more and more suspicious, but he was unable to verify it because of his weak power.

But as he got along with Xue Zhiyi more and more, he felt more and more that her every frown and smile made her face, which was only 30% similar to A Niang, look 70% similar to her.

After hesitating for a moment, he called out, "Miss Xue."

Although Xue Zhiyi had guessed it in his mind, he was still shocked when he saw the secret letter. Now facing Jiang Xu, he didn't know how to start.

"Master Jiang, I'm here to ask you some trivial questions, which may be a little presumptuous."

Jiang Xu was inexplicably nervous: "I will tell you everything I know."

After taking a deep breath, Xue Zhiyi asked him seriously, "Is Lord Jiang from Cishui, Jiangzhou?"

"Yes." He answered, "It has been like this since our ancestors."

"I wonder who's at home?"

Jiang Xu was stunned for a moment, then his expression eased a little: "Sit down and listen slowly."

The early autumn wind was cool, and the two sat opposite each other at the stone table in the yard.

"My family is a farming and reading family in Cishui. My father's name is Jiang Fengjing. He passed the imperial examination when he was young. A few years later, my grandfather passed away, and the burden of supporting the family fell entirely on his shoulders. He no longer sought fame, but opened a school, collecting dozens of taels of tuition every year. The family also had a few acres of good land and a few houses. Although we were not a wealthy family, we lived a leisurely and comfortable life."

"My mother's name is Xu Hanzhu. She is very good at needlework. She has been learning the craft in the embroidery room since she was a child. She is beautiful and gentle when she smiles, but her temper is the most bold and aggressive. She is always dissatisfied with everything, whether it is for herself or for others. As long as she is dissatisfied with something, she will always fight for it. Everyone in Cishui knows that she is the hardest to bully, but she is also the most righteous to others."

Recalling the past, Jiang Xu smiled unconsciously: "At that time, there were many people who wanted to marry my mother, but she said that she liked listening to my father reading the most. Although she didn't understand, she just felt comfortable listening to him."

"My father is the exact opposite of my mother. He is a well-known good man. He has read the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child. His words and deeds are modeled after the saints. The students are not afraid of him and always act rashly in the school. But since my parents got married, they no longer dare to do that. Although the teacher is a good person, the teacher's wife is well-known for being a fierce person in the surrounding area."

Xue Zhiyi laughed out loud. She grew up in the Xue family, and everything Jiang Xu said was something she had never heard of before. She became more interested, "What happened next?"

"Later, my father, mother, sister and I were born one after another."

"Sister?"

The smile on Jiang Xu's face faded a little, and he hummed softly, "My sister's name is Jiang Xian, she is three years older than me. When she was young, her temperament was like my mother, and I am more like my father. She learned embroidery from my mother and studied with my father. She said that she wants to open her own embroidery studio in the future. It's not enough to have skills, she also needs to be able to do accounting. As for me, I want to pass the imperial examination and bring honor to the family."

A bad premonition came to his mind, and Xue Zhiyi asked him tentatively: "Did she open her embroidery studio later?"

Jiang Xu lowered his eyes, the light in his eyes dimmed, and he did not comment.

"When I was six years old, my grandfather went to Huajing to work for someone, but he suddenly fell ill and died. My parents heard the news and went to Huajing to bury him, but they didn't expect that they would be gone for a year... When they came back, only my mother was left, and there was a coffin with my father in it. Since then, my mother has almost changed her appearance. She no longer has the spirit of the past. My mother, who used to be bright and cheerful, has become dull and silent, and she looks emaciated."

Hearing this, Xue Zhiyi's heart ached: "What happened that year?"

Jiang Xufang's hands on the table tightened unconsciously, as if he wanted to crush something. "On the way to Huajing, my parents found out that my mother was already two months pregnant. By the time they arrived in Huajing, my mother was no longer able to travel by boat, so they could only ask someone to bring my grandfather's coffin back to Cishui. They planned to settle down first and come back after the child was born, but... they didn't expect someone to target the child in my mother's belly. As soon as my little sister was born, she was stolen away by someone unknown."

At this point, Jiang Xu was a little excited: "In order to find my little sister, my father and mother stayed in Huajing and searched hard. They also reported the case to the government, but strangely, no one accepted the case. They had no choice but to go to the Dali Temple to beat the drum to appeal for justice. But they didn't expect that a group of thieves wanted to kill them on the day they left the Dali Temple. My father was stabbed to death to protect my mother! My mother carried my father's body and went around to appeal for justice, vowing to seek justice, but she was once again turned away. My mother even thought about filing a complaint with the emperor, but was found a reason to expel her from Huajing..."

Jiang Xu, who usually acted with moderation, now had red eyes and a choked voice. "Mom was brought back by a fellow villager who I met by chance. According to that fellow villager, Mom was already abnormal at that time. She was wandering outside the gate of Huajing with Dad's body in a dusty state. She had spent all her money and was in a daze. She was extremely wary of everyone she met."

She swallowed the soreness in her throat, put her fist to her forehead, and quickly swept her thumb across her eyes, wiping away a tear she couldn't hold back. "Mom went home to recuperate for a while, and finally regained some consciousness. She told us the cause of our father's death, and also told us to remember my little sister's name. Her name is Jiang Wan. There is a thumb-sized red birthmark on her left shoulder. She told me and my sister to find her... But Mom was so depressed that she couldn't let it go. She died of exhaustion just a few months after returning home."

Xue Zhiyi almost subconsciously touched his left shoulder, where there was an old scar... Fu Ling's efforts to cover up this birthmark were really making things more obvious.

Her heart seemed to be weighed down by something. Even though she had already learned from Fu Ling that her parents were dead, she still held on to a glimmer of hope. Perhaps that was just a lie Fu Ling told to provoke her... But now, her little bit of hope had been shattered. She and her parents only met briefly after she was born, and they would never have the chance to see each other again in this life!

Jiang Xu took a deep breath and tried his best to suppress his sadness: "Didn't you just ask me who else is at home? I am the only one left."

"Where's my sister?" Xue Zhiyi's voice was trembling.

"My elder sister said that my parents were forced to death by power. An ant cannot shake a tree, and a mantis arm cannot stop a chariot. So I must pass the imperial examination no matter what. Only by relying on my ability and being welcomed to the capital with great fanfare can I have a chance to redress my parents' grievances. However, my family has already sold the land to pay for my mother's medical treatment and to bury my parents. I am young and my elder sister is only ten years old. We can't even afford the tuition."

Xue Zhiyi felt heartbroken: "So, sister chose to enter the palace for the official lady who didn't want to enter the palace in exchange for a large sum of money, right?"

Jiang Xu was stunned. He didn't expect Xue Zhiyi to have expected this. He nodded and said, "The palace selected a maid and chose Chai Yue, the daughter of the Chai family at that time. The Chai family couldn't bear to see their daughter enter the palace at such a young age, so they wanted to find a woman of similar age to replace her. My sister went, and from then on, the identity of Jiang Xian disappeared from the world."

Xue Zhiyi's eyelashes trembled, and big tears fell on the table: "So... you secretly met with my sister in the palace at that time because of me, right, brother?"

She only guessed that Chai Yue entered the palace for someone else, but she never thought that she would be her elder sister.