An Ning’s complete recovery came several months later.

By then, the ice and snow had melted, and spring had arrived.

“Thank heavens, Second Sister’s health has finally improved somewhat.”

At the hour of Chen, accompanied by a waft of fragrant air, familiar and light footsteps sounded early outside the Orchid Pavilion. It was the original body’s two sisters.

An Ning instinctively looked up.

The leading Liang Eldest Miss was around ten years old, with a round face and almond-shaped eyes, exactly the type favored by ladies of the time. She wore a blue robe of painted camellia brocade, paired underneath with an apricot-yellow swirling skirt printed with hibiscus flowers. As she walked, the purple jade butterfly hairpin in her hair swayed slightly, highlighting her lively and clever nature all the more.

In contrast, Liang Third Miss, who was younger and followed behind, was more steady, or rather, more low-key.

In both attire and other aspects.

Having been convalescing for so long, and with the two of them visiting from time to time, An Ning was already as familiar with her sisters as could be.

Before she could speak, Amber and the others had already stepped forward, offering tea and snacks.

As the largest cloth merchant in Huai’an County, the Liang household was never short of daily necessities. The tea, fruits, and pastries they brought were each exquisite and delicious.

Facing the particularly enchanting spring scenery of the crabapple blossoms outside the window, the sisters sat by the window, chatting as they ate.

Seeing that she could now walk quite nimbly and her complexion had improved considerably, Liang Shuyu finally breathed a sigh of relief:

“Finally recovered! It’s been several months! Second Sister really suffered this time!”

Then, she glanced at An Ning’s still noticeably pale face, snorted coldly, her slightly upturned eyes naturally carrying a hint of petulance:

“The Lin family, what kind of people are they? Utterly worthless trash! Just read a few books and they really think they’re something special!”

“If you ask me, Concubine Lin was too lenient with those people from the start.”

That’s what inflated their egos.

“Exactly!”

Not finding her words excessive in the slightest, An Ning casually picked up a still-warm chestnut cake, immediately nodded in agreement, and even remembered to imitate the original body’s manner by rolling her eyes dramatically:

“I never want to go back there in my whole life!”

“Staying with those people is worse than being with that peacock!”

‘Peacock’ referred to the Eldest Miss of the He family next door. Her family ran a jewelry business, and because she loved to show off, the sisters had secretly given her this nickname.

It showed just how annoying she was!

Shuyu couldn’t help but chuckle.

The two of them were talking merrily.

Not far away, Liang Xuanyu, who was less than half a year younger than An Ning, was slowly nibbling on a pastry, only occasionally nodding her little head in agreement.

Overall, as there were no significant conflicts of interest, and with Madam Wu holding an absolutely dominant position in the household, the relationship between the sisters was quite good.

In the evening, after seeing the two off, An Ning couldn’t help but think to herself:

They’re definitely much better than those people from the Lin family.

Merchant households also didn’t have all those rigid rules.

After “recovering” from her illness, and fearing her daughter might suffer lingering effects, An Ning was forced to stay in her room for an extra half month to recuperate before she could slowly start going out to enjoy herself again.

During this period, it was more than enough time for An Ning to get a pretty clear picture of the Liang residence’s situation.

The grandmother above was advanced in years and didn’t like to manage affairs much. Most of the household’s internal authority was in the hands of Madam Wu. Apart from her particular fondness for the legitimate eldest son, Liang Jue, the old madam didn’t show much favoritism towards her granddaughters like An Ning and the others.

However, as a favored concubine, Master Liang was quite generous, so An Ning’s branch lived quite comfortably in the residence.

At the very least, their life was far better than that of ordinary families outside who couldn’t eat their fill or dress warmly.

Because An Ning had suffered such a “great ordeal” recently, and according to the physician, it could easily leave lasting symptoms, Old Man Liang had specifically given her many good things.

Early morning, West Wing. Today, An Ning had surprisingly gotten up early. When she arrived, Madam Lin, wearing a thin rose-colored garment, was reclining on the daybed, her head bowed as she embroidered something stitch by stitch. In the morning light, she naturally exuded an air of gentle tranquility. Occasionally, during breaks, she would glance at the book not far away.

Seeing An Ning approach, Madam Lin hurriedly set down her work and, heart aching, pulled her daughter’s noticeably thinner little body into her embrace.

“Mother is reading again?”

Seeing the book nearby that had clearly been flipped through many times, An Ning wasn’t surprised. She just blinked her big eyes as if asking casually.

Patting her daughter’s soft little head, Madam Lin on the soft couch soon smiled gently, her face unconsciously showing a bit of joy:

“In a while, our Ning Ning will also start attending school, and there’s your elder brother too. How can your mother not learn a bit more?”

If nothing else, she could at least supervise them in the future.

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but sigh softly.

The Liang family came from a merchant background. Although nowadays, unlike in the previous dynasty, merchants weren’t barred from taking the imperial examinations, it was still impossible to achieve very high status. It was the same with education; reputable Xiucai-level teachers would hardly “condescend” to enter a merchant’s household.

Even the current Teacher Wang in the residence was hired by Madam Wu at great expense.

Jing’er is also not like his elder brother from the main branch, who will inherit the Liang family’s vast legacy in the future. He must find his own path. And Ning Ning too, learning more is never a bad thing.

This was also why, some time ago, she insisted on taking lavish gifts back home, even at the risk of displeasing her two children.

If nothing else, if she could just keep some of her younger brother’s old writing materials…

What a pity. Thinking of the suffering her daughter had endured recently, a deep anger unconsciously flashed in Madam Lin’s eyes. The embroidery pattern in her hand had unknowingly become crumpled.

An Ning pretended not to notice anything, still obediently nestling in the other’s embrace, but she couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

But… looking at her own mother’s still gentle and serene expression, An Ning quickly put away that tiny bit of mockery.

Did Madam Lin herself understand this point?

Starting with no foundation at all, she managed to rise from a lowly little maid to become one of the old madam’s favored senior maids, step by step reaching her current position. Gentle and serene was just the surface; the original body’s mother was not stupid.

It was just that she always held onto a sliver of hope.

As a concubine, no matter how favored, one’s heart always lacks a solid foundation. After all, they are family. No matter how lacking Young Uncle Lin was, he was still one of the few lifelines the mother and her two children could potentially grasp in the future.

Scholars always cared about their reputation.

At that time, even if just for the sake of his reputation, he wouldn’t watch his own elder sister end up in such a miserable state.

An Ning thought to herself:

This was probably also the reason why, both before and now, every time she returned home, the original body’s mother always made a big show of it and brought lavish gifts with great fanfare.

Ultimately, it was because the mother and her two daughters were truly too weak.

But now, thinking about how for a full two months, Madam Lin hadn’t sent anything to her family, not even a single message, An Ning couldn’t help but feel somewhat pleased.

It seemed her recent period of “weakness” wasn’t without its benefits.

“So, there’s still no change at Young Uncle Lin’s place?”

Inside her spiritual sea, the system vigorously shook its head.

“Is that so!” That meant, at least for now, that so-called opportunity hadn’t arrived yet.

An Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit thoughtful.

After enjoying a table full of delicious dishes, just when the system thought its host would continue to feign weakness a while longer, perhaps because she had just recovered and was bored from being cooped up, the very next morning, it saw its host suddenly clamoring insistently to go out.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep