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14: Chance

The next day early morning, Zi Yinye made an excuse to accompany Chun Ri out. Seated inside the carriage, Chun Ri discovered that today, her lady's mood was exceptionally good and couldn't help but ask, "My lady, why are you so happy today?"

"Of course I'm happy to be able to see my mother today," Zi Yinye said slowly, her voice also unprecedentedly soft.

Chun Ri froze at this response. The excuse they had made for Zi Yinye was visiting the Zi Clan, but her lady would definitely not have such a good mood for visiting her mother. Furthermore, she did not sound like her usual self and sounded like she was putting on an act. Just when she was going to ask, Zi Yinye pointed outside. Chun Ri understood immediately and stopped.

Today, Mo Bai was the one driving the carriage. It was Ren Fengyao who specially instructed Mo Bai to send them into the city, but despite his good intentions, it caused trouble for Zi Yinye instead. Being "monitored" when going out was really... but she had to hold back!

Zi yinye directed Mo Bai to bring them to a small alleyway near the back entrance of the Zi courtyard. After getting off the carriage, Mo Bai felt it was strange. "Why is Madam not entering the main entrance to visit?"

Zi Yinye lowered her head, her tone embarrassed and disheartened as she said, "I only wanted to return home to see my mother. Entering through the main entrance is not necessary. In any case, besides my mother, nobody wishes to see me."

Mo Bai instantly felt sympathy, his eyes flashing with pity, but he understood that with his status, he could not say anything. Thus, he lowered his head. "Then Madam, when and where should Mo Bai return to receive Madam?"

"Noon. You should return to this place. I will return right after eating lunch with my mother."

Mo Bai nodded. "Then Mo Bai shall first go to the marketplace. When noon comes, I shall return to pick Madam up."

As she watched Mo Bai hurriedly direct the carriage away as if running away from a natural disaster, a smile arose on her lips. "Pitying me!" she said disdainfully, her lip curled. "This fellow, if I sold him off one day, he'd be counting the money for me!"

"My lady, you were acting like a completely other person just a moment ago. I'm honestly impressed."

"Nonsense. Of course I have to maintain my pathetic appearance. But I do have to be careful not to exaggerate too much." Zi Yinye stretched lazily. "Let's go!"

Seeing Zi Yinye not enter the Zi courtyard but the alleyway instead, Chun Ri said hurriedly, "My lady, you're not going to visit your family?"

"Idiot, who said I was going to visit them? It was just an excuse, understand?"

"But my lady, since you are already here, why don't you see Madam?"

Zi Yinye shook her head, smiling faintly. She faced the Zi courtyard, her eyes misting over as she looked into the distance. "It is better to not meet. Sooner or later, I will leave. Mother needs to get used to my absence, the earlier, the better. Chun Ri, do you know why after marriage, I have never returned to the Zi clan?"

Chun Ri shook her head.

"It is so Mother can get used to the fact that I am gone, so all of the Zi clan can forget my existence."

"My lady, what do you mean by that?"

"Chun Ri, how do you think Mother would react if she heard one day I was gone?" Not waiting for Chun Ri's response, she continued, "It's possible she would feel dejected, but not for long. For one, she has Father by her side. With her current charm, Father will definitely not throw her away. She will be loved forever and with Father's love, she will gradually forget about me. Secondly, she will realize that in reality, I had already gradually disappeared from her world. The most important person in her life is not me, but Father, so even if I am gone, she will still be fine. As for the other family members, I have rarely appeared before them, so they too will gradually forget my existence. Even if news arrives that something unfortunate has happened to me, there won't be many ripples."