chapter 5
# chapter 5
Me?
I pointed at myself without thinking, staring at the noblewoman in utter shock.
The noblewoman held my hand without a flicker of expression, perfectly composed. “She’s never seen strangers since she was little. You startled her.”
The lead Tiger Guard immediately dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and clasped his hands toward me. “Young miss, I was out of line.”
“I await whatever punishment you see fit.”
I’d never been on the receiving end of such a grand gesture and hurriedly moved to help the Tiger Guard up.
But before I could budge, my cousin, pinned to the side, couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.
He started shouting, “That’s nonsense! This girl grew up right under my parents’ eyes.”
“If she’s some marquis household young miss, then we’re her maiden family.”
“If you, the principal wife of the marquis household, want to claim her, you ought to take us along too.”
My uncle and aunt by marriage nodded along eagerly.
All the while they couldn’t stop sneaking glances at this legendary lady of the marquis household, inwardly kicking themselves for being too blind to recognize Mount Tai.
Why hadn’t they cozied up and curried favor when this noble was down on her luck?
Then wouldn’t this heaven-sent fortune have landed right in their laps?
Maybe their precious son could even snag an official’s daughter for a wife.
They were secretly scheming: no matter what, this Lin girl was still their own niece by blood. They’d watched her grow up.
Once Lin girl became a marquis household young miss, they could latch onto that towering tree too.
Just as they were basking in these rosy thoughts, the noblewoman merely cast them a faint glance.
“You people have some nerve, daring to falsely claim you’re Nian’er’s maiden family.”
The noblewoman’s voice carried a chill. “Is the Cui family name something the likes of you can just appropriate?”
The moment the words fell, the Tiger Guards instantly took their cue.
They kicked the family of three to the ground.
Before they could even yelp, the guards twisted their arms behind them and pinned their heads hard against the dirt.
Not another peep could escape them.
The Tiger Guard captain clasped his fist toward the noblewoman. “Madam, how should these people be dealt with?”
The noblewoman looked at me, her eyes softening again.
“You decide.”
I was still reeling from the shock of suddenly becoming a daughter, my mind a complete mess.
All I wanted was to ask the noblewoman what on earth was going on.
So I shook my head and said, “Whatever.”
The noblewoman then instructed the Tiger Guards, “Send them somewhere out of sight, then.”
“So they don’t dirty the eyes or foul the ears.”
With that, the noblewoman led me onto a carriage waiting nearby.
The carriage was lined with soft, plush rugs, and the furnishings were inlaid with gold and jade.
Selling off any one piece at random would be enough for me to live on for a lifetime.
I knew the noblewoman was noble, but I never imagined she was this noble.
I was nearly dazzled senseless, my whole being caught in a massive shock.
The noblewoman squeezed my hand. “Miss Lin, forgive my forwardness just now.”
“I wish to take you as my daughter. Would you be willing?”
I blinked. “Why me?”
The noblewoman’s palm was warm. “Miss Lin, the moment I saw you, I felt an affinity with you.”
“Ever since I became the principal wife of the marquis household, I’ve been sequestered deep within the inner residence for twenty years. Yet only these days spent with you have made me feel at ease.”
“This town is a thousand li from the capital. If we part here, I fear we may never meet again.”
“The matter of Nian’er is already this life’s regret.”
“Miss Lin, forgive a mother’s selfishness in wanting to grasp something for herself, to leave no more regrets.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
She was not the lofty principal wife of the marquis household, but a mother.
A faint heat rose behind my eyes.
But I was too embarrassed to agree outright, so I said, “But what if someone recognizes that I’m not…”
The noblewoman gently shook her head. “Nian’er was sent to be raised at my maiden home-the Northwestern General’s Residence-since she was little.”
“No one in the marquis household could tell the difference.”
She paused, then added, “And the marquis household has many country estates below it.”
“Several of those estates raise all sorts of domestic pigs.”
My eyes lit up, and I nodded like a pestle pounding grain.
The noblewoman covered her face and laughed, tapping me on the head.
“My surname is Cui. From now on, in private, just call me Madam Cui.”
“When the day comes that you feel ready, then call me Mother.”
I agreed at once, then after a moment’s thought, squirmed a little and added, “Um, Madam Cui, there’s one more thing.”
“I didn’t bring my butcher knife.”