Momo has finished washing up.

  He led He Lian into the inner chamber.

  The silver pendants on her hairpin collided with the jade hairpin, producing a clear and pleasant sound. As soon as she walked into the inner room separated by the screen, He Lean saw the tall and thin old man lying on the bed waving his hand constantly, hoarsely calling out: "Xian Xian, Xian Xian"

  This is her mothers nickname.

  An An walked quietly to the bedside and knelt down to kowtow, softly saying "An An has seen Grandfather."

  Mr. Shao spent most of his life in the military, and as a result, he has many old ailments that plague him to this day. As hes gotten older, every day is a struggle, and hes not doing well mentally either. In his younger years, he had a happy family with a wife and children, but good times didnt last long. His eldest daughter died unexpectedly, his second son died in battle, and later on, his youngest and most beloved daughter was ruined by her in-laws. Even his wife was driven to death. Now, all thats left is one son.

  As soon as he heard the soft voice like a spring breeze, Old Master Shao opened his cloudy eyes and looked at He Lean. "You...you..." In an instant, sorrow welled up, and tears of grief, regret, and longing flowed freely. He stretched out his hand to touch her face, "Xiangxiang..."

  He Lean had never seen his own mother, but Old Lady He said that he was extremely similar to her, and as he grew older, he became more and more like a mold carved out of wood. Even when mistaken for someone else, he wouldnt correct them, only smiling and saying: "From today on, Anan will stay by Grandfathers side to serve him."

  The brilliance of the silver hairpin was highlighted by her slight movements as it brushed against her pale cheek. Old Master Shao seemed to enjoy the sound of the pearl pendant colliding, and he suddenly laughed while wiping away tears. Meanwhile, He Shi and Shao Yingxiu, seeing that they had not put on any act of driving out the strong and keeping the weak, snorted coldly a few times before leaving.

  **

  For several days, He Lean stayed at Zhuo Yibos mansion day and night to serve Shao Lao Ye, and when she was tired, she would go to the side room cleaned up by Momo to rest. With her plain and approachable appearance, she had already become close friends with the maids serving in this courtyard, who knew that she could cook well and were all full of praise for her.

  He Lian brought the medicine she had been brewing all night to Shao Lao Yes bedside early in the morning, only to see that Shao Da Shu, who came every day to take a look, was also there today. He looked at her and smiled with a meaty face: "An An, you are a young lady from the Hou Mansion, these messy things in the back kitchen can be handed over to the maidservants."

  "Uncle misunderstood, I just like to play with these things," He Lian said. "Uncle try some too, I cooked it with old chicken and old turtle plus a few medicinal herbs." After saying that, she handed a bowl of soup to Shao Da Shu, then turned back to sit beside the bed carefully feeding Shao Lao Ye, even when the soup occasionally flowed out from the corner of Shao Lao Yes mouth who was unconscious, she gently wiped it away without showing any impatience.

  Shaos uncle looked at him and said, "Uncle is going out for three days, so Father will have to trouble you to take care of things."

  "Uncle, youre being too serious, taking care of Grandpa is something I should be doing, whats there to be tired or not tired about?"

  He Lean and Shao Da-shu said a few more words before sending him out of the courtyard. As the sun set in the west, Shao Ying-xiu, who had not been seen for several days, arrived with a particularly eye-catching amber jade bangle on her wrist.

  "Xiuer, this bangle is really beautiful." He Lean said with a smile.

  Shaoying proudly hummed a triumphant tune: "This is the token of appreciation from the Prince of Rui, brought back by my cousin from the capital, and Im generously giving you this small trinket." She condescendingly tossed a green jade ring to He Lean.

  Ke Hele An only felt that the cyan jade ring stuffed into her palm was like a red-hot iron, scorching her skin until it festered. A cold and ruthless handsome face flashed through her mind, the man using a dagger coated with a deadly poison to violently stab her shoulder blade.

  The chill of the ice made her whole body tremble, and the exquisite green jade ring fell from her fingers and shattered on the ground.