"But then the woman flickered, revealing a red fox tail behind her..."
Jiang Ning was engrossed in reading the book when hurried footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard.
"My lord," called out the maid named Xiaoru.
Nangong Ya had arrived!
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, set the book aside, and got up from the bed. She walked towards the door and as she opened it, she saw Nangong Ya rushing over, with Old Zhong following behind.
"Ling'er!"
Nangong Ya was still in his official robes, having clearly run straight here upon entering the house, not even catching his breath. Now he stood two steps away from Jiang Ning, staring at her in shock and joy.
Jiang Ning looked at this man whose features resembled her own, secretly took a deep breath, and put on a smile, pretending to be obedient as she spoke: "Father, I'm back."
Nangong Ya gazed fixedly at the calmly smiling Jiang Ning before him, his throat tightening as he felt his eyes growing hot.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..."
The eloquent Prime Minister found himself tongue-tied in front of his lost and returned daughter, unable to say anything beyond those words.
Jiang Ning didn't share his sentimentality. She hadn't come to the Prime Minister's Mansion to perform some "father-daughter bonding" act.
"You two, go down first. I have something to discuss with Father in private," Jiang Ning said to Old Zhong and Xiaoru.
After Jiang Ning spoke, neither of them moved, as Nangong Ya was still present and a young miss couldn't make such decisions.
"Go on," Nangong Ya said without turning around, his expression somewhat grave.
Old Zhong and Xiaoru silently withdrew from the courtyard, leaving the space to the father and daughter.
"Let's talk inside," Jiang Ning said, turning to walk into the room and sitting down at the table.
Nangong Ya was stunned by this, unable to react for a long time.
The reason was simple: the Nangong Ling before him was too unfamiliar!
In his memory, the Nangong Ling who timidly called him "Father" never dared to look him in the eye, let alone speak to him so calmly. Whenever she saw him, she would always keep her head bowed low, even hiding from him at a distance. Although he had never spoken harshly to her, Nangong Ling was inexplicably afraid of him.
But the daughter before him now was so different. She wasn't afraid of him, she didn't even respect him, otherwise she wouldn't have entered the room and sat down on her own. Though she was smiling, Nangong Ya, with his extensive experience in reading people, could tell how much sincerity was in that smile.
But Nangong Ya quickly pushed this peculiarity to the back of his mind. The more pressing question now was why Nangong Ling had suddenly returned home? What had happened in these past few months?
After Nangong Ya sat down at the table, before he could ask anything, Jiang Ning spoke first: "Father, I was beaten, my limbs broken, my face disfigured, and I was sold. Fortunately, I met a kind person who healed me and brought me back home."
Nangong Ya instinctively looked at her face. Of his three children, although Nangong Ling was an accident, she resembled him the most.
That young, delicate face wore no makeup, the skin fine and fair, smooth as congealed cream, without a single blemish.
Nangong Ya's suspicious gaze fell to Jiang Ning's arms, then moved downward, but her legs were hidden by the table.
Jiang Ning knew what Nangong Ya was looking at and slightly curled her lips. This father was much harder to fool than Liu Ming'an.
Liu Ming'an was more lovable.
Jiang Ning spared a moment to think of that person, and the smile on her lips deepened.
"Ling'er, is what you're saying true? Where is this kind person? I'd like to meet them," Nangong Ya said after a moment.
In fact, with the testimonies of Ma Steward and Dongmei, Nangong Ya believed Nangong Ling's words, but he couldn't see any signs of injury on her body, which was too incredible. It was one thing for broken limbs to be healed, but how could a disfigured face be restored so perfectly? Was there really such a miraculous medicine?
Jiang Ning avoided answering and instead stared at Nangong Ya, asking in return: "Father, aren't you going to ask who did this to me?"
Nangong Ya's pupils constricted, his hand on the table unconsciously clenching into a fist.
Jiang Ning inwardly sneered, answering her own question: "My head was also injured. I've forgotten many things. I only remember that I'm Nangong Ling, the third young miss of the Prime Minister's Mansion, your daughter. I can't recall anything else clearly."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Ning saw Nangong Ya's shoulders relax, his expression softening considerably.
"Father has already investigated," Nangong Ya said slowly, avoiding Jiang Ning's gaze. "It was Ma Steward and your maid Dongmei who did it. Father will avenge you."
"Hehe..." Jiang Ning lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes hiding the mockery in them. She covered her mouth and laughed lightly, pretending to be naive as she thanked him: "Thank you, Father."
Things had turned out as she expected. Even between biological daughters, there were differences.
If Nangong Ya had finally discovered that Nangong Ling had truly been tortured and sold by Nangong Muyan, dying miserably in a foreign land, perhaps the guilt in his heart would have made him feel cold and angry towards Nangong Muyan. But at most, it would have been a minor punishment; Nangong Muyan would definitely have remained unscathed in the end.
But now that "Nangong Ling" had returned unharmed, Nangong Ya's guilt had been almost completely worn away. He would only want to settle the matter quietly.
After all, she wasn't the child of the woman he loved. There was responsibility, but no fatherly love. Jiang Ning understood this.
"Who is this kind person who saved you? Where do they live? Father wants to thank them properly," Nangong Ya asked again.
But Jiang Ning had lost patience for this pretense. She replied coldly: "I don't want to tell you now. You'll know in the future."
These words were impolite, not how a daughter should speak to her father. Nangong Ya frowned, his eyes inquisitive: "Ling'er, your personality has changed a lot."
"Oh? Has it?" Jiang Ning said carelessly, with pointed meaning: "Perhaps it's because I've died once!"
Hearing these lukewarm words, Nangong Ya felt somewhat irritated, as if something had slipped out of his control.
"By the way, Father, how do you plan to deal with Ma Steward and Dongmei?" Jiang Ning raised her eyes to look at Nangong Ya as she asked.
A flash of severity passed through Nangong Ya's eyes: "I will have them killed!"
Jiang Ning probed: "Why don't I go see them? I want to ask why they did this to me."
"That's not necessary!" Nangong Ya refused outright, then hesitated for a moment before finding a seemingly reasonable excuse: "They were merely blinded by greed. I've already had them locked in the dungeon, and that's no place for a young lady like you. Father promises you, those two won't live past tomorrow!"
"Oh."
Jiang Ning understood clearly that Nangong Ya feared the two might reveal the true mastermind to her. He wanted Ma Steward and Dongmei to take all the blame, protecting Nangong Muyan's spotless reputation.
What a loving father! Still thinking about family harmony.
Jiang Ning had no desire to argue further with Nangong Ya. She rested her chin on her hand and dismissed him: "Father, I'm tired. I want to rest for a while. You can go attend to your business."
Nangong Ya was stunned again. This feeling of being ordered around was too strong. He felt uneasy and wanted to say something, but seeing Jiang Ning already walking towards the bed, he swallowed his words.
"Alright, Ling'er, rest well. Remember to eat when you wake up. If you need anything, just tell the maids, or you can find me."
Nangong Ya tried to show some concern before leaving, but Jiang Ning had already lain down on the bed and gave no response.
Hearing Nangong Ya walk away, Jiang Ning opened her eyes on the bed, staring motionlessly at the canopy above. After a long while, she sighed.
The human heart cannot withstand testing.
From the moment she learned that the original owner was Nangong Ling, Jiang Ning knew she would eventually return to this Prime Minister's Mansion.
Nangong Ling was dead, and she had become Nangong Ling. She couldn't possibly spend her whole life hiding behind a veil; she needed to settle things with the Prime Minister's Mansion.
It's just that this time, plans had changed, and she had returned to the mansion much earlier than she had originally intended.
The change was because Nangong Muyan wasn't in the mansion last night. Jiang Ning didn't know when she would return, but she certainly didn't want to miss the drama of Nangong Muyan confronting her father, Nangong Ya.
She very much wanted to know how Nangong Ya would question Nangong Muyan, and after getting the answers, what kind of punishment he would give Nangong Muyan.
Ultimately, it all came down to one thing: Jiang Ning wanted to know how much Nangong Ling truly weighed in her father's heart.
In the past, Jiang Ning wouldn't have cared about such things. She believed in repaying grievances with grievances and settling scores directly. Nangong Muyan had crippled her limbs, ruined her face, and wanted her to live out the rest of her life in misery. According to Jiang Ning's original plan, she should have simply paid Nangong Muyan back in kind.
Perhaps it was because she had become Nangong Ling, understanding her brief life starved of love, that Jiang Ning inexplicably developed this obsession. She wanted to explore, on behalf of that departed soul, how much affection her birth father truly had for her.
It was for this reason that, even knowing that returning to the mansion at this time would leave her vulnerable, Jiang Ning still came back.
"Nangong Ling, are you watching?" Jiang Ning softly asked the empty air. Only silence answered her.