Chui Ling's goosebumps were about to rise.

  In her impression, Cui Chengkai had always been very cold to her, rarely meeting in daily life, and even if they met, it was just a nod and a "oh". Although he didn't seem to be particularly fond of the three children born to his second wife Yang, he was still much warmer to them than to her.

  As her father, Choi Sung-kuk is clearly unqualified.

  But in memory, there were also beautiful moments.

  When she died and was reborn, opening her eyes again, she was still a newborn baby. Although she was an adult wrapped in the shell of an infant, with thoughts and opinions, before the age of three, she basically had no ability to act freely.

  At that time her mother, Madame Luo, was still alive and well, giving her all the greatest love a mother could give.

  His father was not the mediocre and taciturn person he later became, but rather a cheerful and passionate man who loved his mother and her.

  He still remembers that the first thing he did every day when he returned home was to hold her and take a walk in the garden, and on holidays, he never went out with friends to drink or have fun, but instead stayed at home with his wife and children, holding her all day without letting go.

  There were several times when Grandfather caught him, and Grandfather said with a serious face, "You don't even hold your own son in your arms, but you always carry Nine-tailed Fox around. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by outsiders? When you have time, don't just stay at home all the time, go out and socialize with your colleagues more often. The Ministry of Rites is not a place where you can get promoted just because of your father's face."

  "Dad, look at how lovely my daughter is! I should hug her more while she's still young. She'll grow up soon and won't even want me to hold her anymore."

  At that time, Cui Ying felt a bit awkward being held in the arms of a big man, but she couldn't deny the happiness and emotion overflowing in her heart.

  She was born in a poor mountain village, her parents had many children, as an unexpected daughter, she didn't have a childhood and never received so-called paternal love or maternal love, the affection between siblings was also scarce.

  Although she never resented, people's need for emotions is always objectively existing. She has been longing and expecting to receive paternal love and maternal love all the time. However, when she finally achieved success after going through hardships, her parents and siblings were surrounding her as expected, but not because of affection, but because of money.

  At the moment she was crushed to death in the ruins due to thirst and hunger, she had wished that if there was an afterlife, she hoped to have a happy and fulfilling family, with a pair of parents who loved her and were worthy of her love.

  Then, in the instant she opened her eyes, she really got it.

  Cui Ying felt extremely happy.

  However, when I was three years old, my mother Luo fell ill with a sudden and severe illness, and soon passed away.

  Luo's sudden death was a bolt from the blue, while Cui Chengkai's depression was a nightmare for Cui Ying.

  The lively and cheerful young man with a smile on his face disappeared, he became low-spirited, gloomy, despondent, and decadent, gradually becoming silent and taciturn, losing interest in everything, including his beloved daughter.

  Later, Cui Chengkai followed his parents' orders and married a daughter of Jiang Dong's An family as his second wife, and they had three children in succession.

  He was still living a life like a puppet on strings without spirit, and he became more and more estranged from Cui Ying.

  Choi Yong didn't think she'd see her father's emotional face in this lifetime, evoking the beautiful memories that were almost buried deep within her. But this concern came too late, and she felt not only estranged but also somewhat resistant.

  When she decided to enjoy her new life, her father backed off.

  Just as she decided to start her life anew in the Yuan household, the role of father suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

  But at this time, she obviously no longer needs a kind father.

  She has grown up, married and gone. At the moment when her mother passed away, she was so fragile and painful that she needed her father's love and care, but she faced it alone and got through it. In the rest of her life, she didn't feel like she needed her father to protect her either.

  Choi Yong's face still wore its usual smile, but his feet involuntarily took a small step back.

  Choi Sung-kai's heart ached like a knife cut when he saw his daughter's reaction.

  He had a thousand words in his heart that he wanted to pour out to her, but when the words reached his lips, he found that not one of them could be spoken.

  Apologize? It's too late.

  Curse oath? No need.

  Tell her his concerns? No, too dangerous.

  Let her continue to misunderstand him? Although unwilling, it seems that for now, there is no other choice.

  Choi Sung-gyu's hands trembled slightly, and he slowly raised them as if to gently pat Choi Eun-bi's shoulder like Ahn Nyeong-beom had done earlier, but his hands only lifted halfway before falling heavily back down.

  He forced a smile and said, "Ling'er, you stay here and chat with your grandmother for a while. I'll go to the Gathering Hall to entertain our guests."

  Having said that, he hastily left.

  Cui Ling's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  This was probably the longest sentence his father had ever said to her since her mother's death.

  Although she appears to be a bit dull and stupid on the surface, having been immersed in her own set environment for many years, she has indeed lost some of her judgment about things around her, but the hard life of her previous life has not left any trace on her.

  That's it, she is very sensitive.

  Just now, Choi Sung-kyu's behavior was too abnormal. Although he didn't reveal anything, Choi Yeong had a hunch that he was hiding many secrets, and those secrets might be related to herself.

  What is it that he wants to say but dares not?

  "Xiao Jiu, tell Second Aunt about the Yuan family, what's going on?"

  Cui Ling quickly came to her senses, and a smile returned to her face as she greeted people. She turned around with a smile and started chatting with Er Bomu and several of her cousins in a casual manner.

  Before long, a little girl came to deliver a message saying that today's banquet was set up in the flower hall and Old Lady asked Ninth Auntie to go over.

  As usual, it was a sumptuous feast for the guests, extremely rich and abundant.

  If it were in the past, Cui Ying would have been very much looking forward to it, because the wine and dishes for entertaining guests are different from those at home, and there are always a few special dishes that are particularly labor-intensive and showy. But after staying with the Yuan family and Lao Taijun for two days, she no longer had any expectations of the chef in Anning Bo's mansion.

  Color is slightly less attractive.

  The aroma is barely rich.

  The taste is surprisingly good.

  Furthermore, Cui Chengkai's expression just now was somewhat off, she had something on her mind, and the taste of food would inevitably be affected by her emotions, becoming less palatable.

  Cui Ling didn't eat much, and Yi Ning Junzhu just barely touched her lips.

  After finishing a meal with great difficulty, Cui Ying glanced at the county master's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, let's sit for a while longer, then we'll go home."

  She has never liked such crowded and noisy scenes, before it was fear of making mistakes, now it's just no mood.

  She had also thought that since she was back, she might as well go to Xiangxiang Pavilion where she used to live and reminisce about the past decade or so, which she had spent holed up there.

  But just now when chatting casually, I found out that her previous courtyard had her niece move in yesterday.

  The Anning Bo Fu has a large population and few houses, she has always known that the Cui family will not keep the residence of married daughters like other families, just like her Xiangxiang Pavilion, which was once the residence of a distant aunt.

  But she had just gotten married for only a few days...

  All sorts of things added up, and she felt that this time returning home was not fun at all, there was no meaning to it, and she had even given herself a lot of trouble for nothing.

  The Countess of Yining showed a hint of surprise, but still nodded, "Mm, okay. I didn't sleep well last night and have a headache, so I'd like to go home and rest for a bit."

  Cui Yingxiao understood that the princess was giving her an excuse to step down.

  After lunch, as expected, they only sat for a while before Princess Yining led Cui Ying to bid farewell.

  Although they left a bit earlier this time, Princess Yining's status was noble and she said she had a headache and wasn't feeling well. Could the people of the Anning Bo Fu manor still detain her? So, Madame Anning Bo led several daughter-in-laws to personally escort them to the second gate, watching as the carriage slowly exited before returning.