Chapter 11 …
The Legitimate Eldest Daughter
“Mother!”
At that moment, an emotional and gentle voice came from inside the magistrate’s office. Soon, people saw An Chigo, dressed in official robes, hurriedly run out and drop to his knees with a loud thud in front of the Old Madam. Just hearing the sound of the kneeling made Taohua feel phantom pain in her own knees.
“Your son has been unfilial and caused Mother to suffer!”
Without the slightest hesitation, An Chigo pulled the Old Madam into his arms. Tears streamed down the Old Madam’s face as she trembled and held her eldest son’s head. She was too choked with emotion to speak.
Taohua raised her brows at the side. Her so-called father was really something. The smell coming from their bodies was strong enough to make it hard to approach, yet An Chigo had buried his face in the Old Madam’s arms.
Either that was the power of genuine affection—strong enough to ignore the smell—or he was an absolute master of pretense!
While Taohua was lost in these thoughts, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist. Turning around, she saw a dignified and beautiful lady looking at her with eyes full of affection.
“Are you Taohua?”
The lady’s voice trembled slightly, her gaze brimming with maternal love and excitement. In that instant, Taohua knew who she was.
“Mother!”
The word came straight from Taohua’s heart. From her mother, she felt not the slightest trace of disgust—only undisguised joy in her eyes.
“Taohua…!”
Madam Li burst into tears and pulled Taohua into her embrace. Leaning into Madam Li’s arms and sensing her excitement and happiness, Taohua felt somewhat dazed. But when she saw An Chigo and the Old Madam crying together nearby, an indescribable emotion welled up inside her.
The bond between mother and son, mother and daughter—these were originally the purest emotions in the world, feelings that came straight from the heart. What calculations could there be in such emotions?
Only then did Taohua realize that she had been viewing everything around her through the lens of a modern person. She had even forgotten that in this world, true affection really did exist—affection that cared neither for distance nor for beauty or ugliness.
“Greetings to Mother. You must have worked hard coming all this way!”
After the Old Madam helped An Chigo up, Madam Li quickly released Taohua, wiped her tears, and stepped forward. With a loud thud, she knelt before the Old Madam. The sound of her kneeling was no softer than An Chigo’s earlier one, and Taohua’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes, yes. You’ve worked hard these years assisting Chigo. Managing the household and taking care of everything must have been exhausting.”
The Old Madam quickly grasped Madam Li’s hands and helped her up. She was extremely satisfied with her eldest daughter-in-law.
The eldest daughter-in-law was gentle and virtuous, modest yet dignified. Most importantly, she was considerate and broad-minded. Although she came from a merchant family, she handled the household efficiently—something the Old Madam could not fault at all.
Madam Li, moved by her mother-in-law’s approval, felt the tears she had just suppressed surge up again.
“Mother, that is all my duty.”
The Old Madam seemed about to say more when another lady stepped forward and knelt.
“Mother, your second daughter-in-law greets you!”
Still holding Madam Li’s hand, the Old Madam smiled at the kneeling woman.
“So it’s my second daughter-in-law. Quickly rise—don’t kneel there.”
Sun Shi, the second daughter-in-law, briefly showed a flicker of displeasure when the Old Madam did not personally help her up as she had Madam Li. But she quickly smiled again and stood on her own. Then she beckoned to the nearby boys and girls.
“Wenjie, Yihuan, Yile! What are you doing over there? Hurry and greet your grandmother.”
At that moment, An Chigo shook his head.
“No need to rush. Mother has traveled far and must be tired. We should escort her inside first to wash and rest. It won’t be too late for her to meet the grandchildren afterward.”
Sun Shi paused briefly, then immediately smiled.
“I wasn’t thoughtful enough. The children have been saying every day how much they want to see Grandmother, and I got carried away. Mother must be tired—she should bathe and rest first.”
The Old Madam waved her hand with a smile.
“This old woman isn’t tired at all. If anything, Wendu should be the tired one—he carried me on his back the whole way here.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked around. Sure enough, she spotted Madam Wu standing off to one side.
“Third daughter-in-law, why are you standing there? Come over and see your son.”
Madam Wu was kind—very kind—but too rigid and old-fashioned. Even now that the Old Madam had arrived, she hadn’t come forward to greet her, unlike the sociable second daughter-in-law.
Madam Wu approached with an awkward smile.
“Mother, I thought you had much to say after being reunited with Elder Brother and Sister-in-law.”
But the Old Madam replied coolly:
“These children have much to say to me, but you don’t?”
Madam Wu hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Seeing the third aunt at a loss, Taohua, who had been standing like background scenery, finally stepped forward with a smile. Regardless of whether Madam Wu liked it or not, she took Madam Wu’s arm.
“Aunt, Grandmother is joking.”
Madam Wu visibly relaxed and looked at Taohua gently. Seeing Taohua’s face covered in grime, she took out a handkerchief and wiped it for her.
“Our poor Taohua, you must have suffered on the way here.”
“…”
Taohua silently glanced at An Wendu and inwardly sighed.
Poor Third Brother—just standing there without receiving any care from his own mother. How sad he must feel.
But in reality, An Wendu was grinning from ear to ear. His mother liked Taohua, and he liked Taohua—of course she should be treated well!
At this moment, An Chigo also turned his gaze toward his eldest daughter, Taohua.
What entered his eyes was an ordinary little beggar girl. She was already nine years old and had grown fairly tall, but as for the rest, it was still hard to tell.
Madam Li also looked at Taohua, but her gaze lingered more on Taohua’s hand clutching Madam Wu’s arm. Seeing how close Taohua was with Madam Wu, Madam Li felt a faint bitterness inside. It seemed her daughter was distant from her.
The Old Madam, seeing Madam Wu treat Taohua attentively, felt pleased inside but deliberately glared at Taohua.
“You little rascal—your own mother is right here, yet you’re trying to snatch a mother from your third brother like back in An Village? Hurry and return your aunt to him!”
Taohua pouted.
“Grandmother! Isn’t your favoritism a bit too obvious?”
The Old Madam burst out laughing, then looked at An Chigo and Madam Li.
“I’ve brought this child back to you—teach her well from now on.”
Though her expression looked stern, the affection in her tone toward Taohua was unmistakable. An Chigo and Madam Li repeatedly nodded with smiles. Seeing how much the Old Madam cherished the eldest daughter made them secretly happy as parents.
“Mother, please come inside.”
“Alright.”
Supported by the couple, the Old Madam headed toward the rear courtyard of the magistrate’s residence. As they passed through the main gate, An Chigo noticed Concubine Ren and her two children and was about to introduce them—but the Old Madam didn’t even glance at the trio and walked straight past.
Following behind, Taohua watched the scene and subtly curled her lips upward.
Upon entering the rear courtyard, Madam Li supported the Old Madam inside while saying to Taohua:
“Taohua, I’ve instructed a maid to take you to the main courtyard to bathe. After washing up, come to Grandmother’s residence.”
Although she should accompany her newly arrived daughter, the Old Madam had come, and Madam Li had no choice but to personally attend to her. Otherwise, she would be failing in her duties as a daughter-in-law.
The Old Madam wanted to tell Madam Li to go take care of Taohua instead, but seeing the second and third daughters-in-law following behind, she ultimately held back. This was no longer An Village—she couldn’t act entirely as she pleased.
Taohua, however, didn’t mind much.
Soon, a beautiful maid of about seventeen or eighteen, with her hair tied in twin buns, approached Taohua with a smile. Reaching her, the maid bent her knees in greeting.
“Ping Tong greets the Eldest Young Lady.”
Taohua straightened her back and nodded calmly.
“Mm.”
In the nine years since transmigrating to the ancient world, this was the first time someone had formally shown her such respect. Though she didn’t show it outwardly, she felt a bit tense inside. Ancient people took etiquette very seriously—Taohua had no desire to become a laughingstock.
Ping Tong’s expression didn’t change at all despite the unpleasant smell coming from Taohua.
“Eldest Young Lady, this servant will escort you to the main courtyard.”
Taohua looked toward the Old Madam’s back and said:
“Grandmother, Father, Mother, Second Aunt, Third Aunt—I’ll go wash up first. I’ll come pay my respects shortly.”
The Old Madam smiled and waved her off. Seeing Taohua’s words and manners were all appropriate, An Chigo and Madam Li silently exchanged looks and both breathed a sigh of relief.
In truth, the couple had always felt guilty toward their eldest daughter.
Taohua had grown up in the countryside and likely had not received systematic training in etiquette. The magistrate’s residence was full of people and gossip—they didn’t want Taohua to become the subject of ridicule.
After Taohua left, An Wendu followed a servant away as well. The others escorted the Old Madam toward her assigned residence, Songhe Courtyard.
Madam Li spoke:
“Mother, this residence was specially prepared by the Master for you. Please stay here for now. If you find it uncomfortable, we can change it.”
But the Old Madam shook her head.
“No need to waste resources. This old woman lives alone—what discomfort could there be? There’s no need to change anything.”
An Chigo smiled.
“Mother has worked hard for half her life. Your son simply wishes to show filial piety.”
“As long as you all live well, that is enough filial piety. Oh, and you must take good care of Taohua. If I ever discover she’s being bullied, I will not let it pass.”
Hearing this, Madam Li’s smile deepened.
At that moment, Sun Shi chimed in with a smile:
“Mother, Taohua is Elder Brother and Sister-in-law’s daughter—who would dare bully her?”
“That had better be the case.”
As she said this, the Old Madam shot An Chigo a warning look. He was momentarily bewildered.
I also dote on my eldest daughter very much…
Sun Shi, watching from the side, was secretly astonished at the Old Madam’s favoritism toward Taohua. She deliberately teased:
“Mother really adores Taohua. Two out of every three sentences you say mention her!”
The Old Madam replied as if it were only natural:
“Taohua is the An family’s legitimate eldest daughter. Of course she should be cherished!”
Thus, the moment the Old Madam arrived at the magistrate’s residence, she openly revealed her partiality toward Taohua—leaving the An family members each lost in their own thoughts.
