Madam Yuan left the Ruan Familyâs home after lunch, but there was a hint of reluctance before her departure.
Ruan Jiaojiao went out to see her off, and only after watching her car drive away did she truly breathe a sigh of relief.
"Jiaojiao, has Mother Liu always been calling you âmissâ?" Mrs. Ruanlin inquired as she came inside.
Mrs. Ruanlin, when she was a young lady, was the daughter of a landlord, surrounded by maidservants who would directly address their own mistress as âmissâ, unlike the use of prefixes when referring to the daughter of another family.
She recalled that initially, Mother Liu did not address her directly as âmissâ; wasnât it something that suddenly changed later?
"No, it wasnât like that before. It just suddenly changed one time," Ruan Jiaojiao responded. She remembered being startled at that instance because she had heard Mother Liu call Madam Yuan âmissâ and knew that Mother Liu had always served Madam Yuan. Perhaps after Madam Yuan got married, while she outwardly began addressing her as âmadamâ, in private, she might still have been calling her âmissâ.
In any case, she had overheard it a few times, so when she suddenly heard Mother Liu addressing her that way, she was truly taken aback.
Mrs. Ruanlin nodded upon hearing this, yet she still felt something was amiss.
Elsewhere, on the return trip, Madam Yuan sat with her eyes closed, resting, while Mother Liu looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Just speak your mind," Madam Yuan said without opening her eyes, seemingly aware that Mother Liu had something to say.
"Madam, I donât quite understand," Mother Liu spoke, "Madam misses the young miss so much, and if you had only persuaded a little more, with the young missâs temperament, she would have definitely agreed. Why didnât you say more?"
Only Mother Liu knew how much effort Madam Yuan had put into this villa, from decorating to furniture, and even every flower and blade of grass outside; these were all personally tended to by Madam Yuan with the goal of being closer to her daughter.
So why was it that now, she was stepping back?
Madam Yuan did not reply. The attitude of the Ruan Family towards her had changed dramatically from before. It seemed to originate from the time they discovered the Incense Burner. Maybe that little boy really found something and told the Ruan Family, causing them to be wary of her.
But she had no regrets, for without her efforts, how could her daughter reincarnate and enjoy this blessed life?
Let it be retribution then.
She could handle that much more.
â
When Ruan Jianguo returned home that evening and learned the fool had visited their home once again, he couldnât help but find it amusing. Beside him, Shu Jiao said, "Since the house in town has been sorted out, weâll move there next week."
"Sure, next week happens to be Ruan Jieâs monthly holiday, so we donât even need to hire anyone," Ruan Jianguo said joyfully.
The Ruan Familyâs official moving day came in December, as the weather grew colder. Although Ruan Jianguo owned a small truck, it was not large enough to fit bigger furniture, so they had to hire two larger trucks.
While everyone else in the Ruan Family was up and busy early in the morning, Ruan Jiaojiao alone remained asleep with her door closed.
It was also around this time that the villagers learned the Ruan Family was going to move to the town to live, something they had not heard a whisper about.
Of course, not everyone was ignorant of the news. Mrs. Ruanlin had a few good relations within the village, but those few were not the talkative type, so they kept it to themselves.
Naturally, Ruan Jianguo had informed Captain Wu Guoqun, who felt mixed emotions for several days upon learning that they were moving out, but he also understood that their progress was on the rise and that this remote hamlet would not hold them back forever.