Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 1 Returning home
The Kingdom of Yu

On the third day of the eighth lunar month, at the Liu family residence in Laiyang County.

Today is a grand banquet for guests at the Liu family's home, because the eldest daughter of the eldest branch, Liu Siqin, has successfully established her foundation at the young age of eighteen. There are very few like her in the entire Laiyang County, and she is sure to achieve great things in the future.

His mother, Zhu Yingrong, stood at the gate of the mansion to greet the guests, her face glowing with health.

Guests arrived one after another to offer their congratulations, carrying gifts and saying their best wishes.

The Liu family, which had been silent for a long time, is now enjoying great prestige.

At this moment, a dilapidated carriage slowly approached, carrying a young man who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in a gray-blue robe. He drove the carriage and finally stopped in front of the mansion gate.

This scene attracted a lot of attention.

Because the sign hanging in front of the carriage clearly displayed the character "Liu".

Although the Liu family is not as prosperous as it was twenty years ago, it doesn't have such poor relatives. It must be some powerful family that is unhappy with the Liu family's current prosperity and has hired someone to cause trouble.

Zhu Yingrong's well-maintained face lost half of its smile as she looked at Steward Zhou, who immediately dispatched a servant to drive away the carriage with unclear intentions.

"Go, go, go! This is the Liu family's residence, not a place to park. Leave quickly and don't delay our distinguished guests from entering."

Li Qing stood up on the carriage, pointed to the gilded character "Liu" on the signboard, and said loudly, word by word, "You can't read, get out of here."

He looked thirteen or fourteen, but his voice and manner of speaking were no different from those of a six or seven-year-old child.

The servant said impatiently, "Hey, you've come here to cause trouble, haven't you? This is the Liu residence, not a place where you can run wild. If you know what's good for you, get out of here!"

Li Qing emphasized again: "Get out of here."

He raised his right hand, and a flame the size of a fist gathered in his palm, which he then blasted towards the servant who had spoken rudely earlier.

Li Qing didn't hit him hard; his hair was burned and his clothes were torn in a few places.

He rolled down to Zhu Yingrong's feet like a radish.

The guests all covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed.

Seeing that things were not going well, Steward Zhou muttered "good-for-nothing" under his breath and went to the carriage.

"Young master, the Liu family is not a place where just anyone can marry. Go back to where you came from right now, or we'll hand you over to the authorities and you'll be in big trouble."

"Steward Zhou, you're quite the imposing figure. Is this how you usually help Aunt Zhu manage the household?"

The sound came from inside the carriage, clear and melodious. Then a delicate, fair hand lifted the curtain and a head peeked out. When the crowd saw the woman's face, they couldn't help but stir. She truly had skin as smooth as jade and bones as soft as water, a face as beautiful as peach blossoms and eyebrows as delicate as willow branches.

Even Qin Shuyao, who is known as the most beautiful woman in Laiyang County, pales in comparison to this woman.

The woman stepped gracefully from the carriage, her light steps causing her pale pink skirt to flutter in the breeze and the hairpin in her hair to sway gently.

The sharp-eyed woman had already noticed something amiss. The girl's silk skirt and hairpin were outdated, yet they still looked stunning on her. Looking at the dilapidated carriage, the woman, who knew a little about the Liu family, could more or less guess the girl's identity.

"She seems to be Liu Sijun, the eldest daughter of the Liu family. I heard that she is in poor health and has been recuperating at another residence for several years now."

"Now that you've reminded me, it really is her. She went to another house when she was young; she's a pitiful person."

Someone else said, "Pity her? You probably only know one side of the story. This eldest daughter of the Liu family didn't go to the other courtyard because she was unwell. Rather, she was sent there because she was competing with her elder sister for a training spot, and she drugged her elder sister. After the matter was exposed, she was sent to the other courtyard."

Seeing that the others had fallen silent, she continued, "She doesn't even know what kind of person she is. It takes her three years just to gather her Qi, and she still dares to try to steal her own sister's spot. Even if she is the legitimate daughter, the Liu family will never tolerate it."

Liu Sijun raised an eyebrow slightly; she knew without even looking that this person was on good terms with Zhu Yingrong.

Having spent three years lying low in the secluded courtyard, she has returned to reclaim everything that belonged to the original owner of this body and to bring all those who harmed her to justice. The man's mention of the drugging incident was exactly what she wanted.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yingrong snapped out of her daze.

Even though she was unwilling, she had to force a smile and say, "Why didn't you inform your aunt sooner that you were coming back, Third Miss? I could have sent a carriage to pick you up and avoided this embarrassing situation."

"Aunt Zhu manages the entire Liu family, which is truly exhausting. It only took half a day to get back from the other courtyard, so there's no need for such trouble!"

Liu Sijun walked up to the guests and greeted them one by one. Then she said, "Auntie, today is a joyous occasion for the Liu family. It's not appropriate for us to keep blocking the entrance. You go ahead with your business. I'll head back to Qingqiu Courtyard now."

"This one……"

Before Zhu Yingrong could speak, Liu Sijun had already walked inside.

The guests had almost all arrived, and she had to greet them first, so she had to ask Butler Zhou to go and deal with them first.

Liu Sijun knew the place well and quickly arrived at Qingqiu Courtyard.

Qingqiu Courtyard has completely changed. The courtyard, which was originally full of paulownia trees, has been cut down and replaced with a courtyard full of daffodils. It is not the season for flowers to bloom, but nourished by spiritual energy, the yellow daffodils are blooming very profusely.

Bees were swarming around collecting nectar, while two or three maids surrounded a woman dressed in a light green dress, with laughter ringing out from time to time.

Soon, the girl in the light green dress turned her head, and Liu Sijun was able to see her face clearly.

His eyebrows were thick and strong, with a slight upward curve that revealed arrogance and disdain. His long, narrow eyes were upturned, giving him an air of superiority.

One of the maids, with a round face, was facing the courtyard gate and was the first to see Liu Sijun. She questioned, "How dare you! Who are you? How dare you barge into the courtyard without announcing your arrival? Ah..."

Li Qing raised her hand, and the round-faced maid was instantly thrown away, crashing into a pillar behind her and passing out.

"Young lady..."

The other two maids knelt down with a thud, looking at Liu Siqin in terror. They didn't want to kneel, but an invisible pressure was pressing down on them, and they couldn't resist.

Liu Siqin had already noticed someone coming, and thought it was Butler Zhou bringing people to invite her to the front yard for a seat.

Who would have thought it would turn out like this?

Her face was extremely pale, and her gaze passed over Liu Sijun to look at Butler Zhou standing behind her.

"what happened?"

Steward Zhou was already fat, and he only had a mere Qi Refining Level 2 cultivation.

He hurried from the gate of the mansion to Qingqiu Courtyard, his forehead covered in sweat. Suddenly, the eldest young lady called out his name. He gasped for breath and wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve before replying, "Reporting to the eldest young lady, this is the third young lady. She just returned from the other courtyard."

While replying, he was thinking, "The third girl looks so delicate and frail, but she walks with such speed that I can't keep up with her."

Liu Sijun was just twelve years old when she left. She had never seen him in the four years she spent in the villa. Although he looked familiar, she didn’t recognize him at first glance.

The main difference is that his overall demeanor is completely different from four years ago.

However, his temper doesn't seem to have changed; he's still willful, capricious, and has no manners whatsoever.

Liu Siqin snorted and said, "I wondered who was making such a fuss. It turns out to be my third sister. It's already unfilial of you to return to the manor without Father's permission. And to hit my maid as soon as we met is just outrageous. I am your eldest sister."

Liu Sijun ignored Liu Siqin's words and instead asked Steward Zhou with a puzzled look, "Why is she in my Qingqiu Courtyard?"

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(End of this chapter)