Volume One, Chapter Two: I Will Be the Eldest Legitimate Daughter

"First, send someone to fetch a skilled physician," Jiu Mu said indifferently.

Covered in wounds and soaked in salt and chili water, she knew that without immediate treatment, she would either succumb to infection or die from the sheer agony.

"Very well." Yan Huaichen glanced at her disheveled and wretched state, then gave the order to a servant right in front of her.

Jiu Mu then continued, "I can spare your wife, and I can go through with this 'spirit-warding' marriage as you requested, but I demand a proper and legitimate status."

Hearing this, Yan Huaichen felt a sense of relief. "You may rest assured on that count. You are, after all, a daughter of the Yan family. I shall register you under my wife’s name and tell the public that the second young lady had been away at the manor recovering from an illness."

Although it was a marriage intended to ward off ill fortune, it had been decreed by the Emperor, and the groom’s family was a prestigious marquis house. He had already planned to keep up appearances.

"The status I speak of is not merely that of the second young lady of the Yan family," Jiu Mu said with a light chuckle.

"Then what more do you want?" Yan Huaichen frowned. He thought to himself that he should have known better; this wretched girl was raised in the countryside, and as expected, she was not only ill-mannered but insatiably greedy.

"I want to be the eldest legitimate daughter of the Yan family."

Jiu Mu spoke with firm conviction. Though the sentence was simple, it left everyone present in shock.

"What? That is utterly preposterous! Qingling is the eldest daughter," Yan Huaichen roared.

Madam Xu could not help but chime in, "Indeed, there is an order of seniority; how can such things be trifled with?"

"I don't find it preposterous at all. After all, I was born two hours before Yan Qingling."

Yan Liruo had once told the original owner of this body that their biological mother came from a scholarly family and had been deceived by Yan Huaichen, forced into the role of a concubine. By rights, she should have been the eldest legitimate daughter.

The debts owed to her by the Yan family had to be repaid, and the grievances she had suffered had to be avenged. Since she had arrived here, she had to find something meaningful to do.

"No, I do not agree," Yan Huaichen refused without hesitation.

Jiu Mu did not seem surprised by his reaction. She replied dismissively, "If that is the case, then there is nothing left to discuss."

"Choose another condition," Yan Huaichen commanded.

"But I don't want to choose another," Jiu Mu refused instantly.

"You..." Yan Huaichen had not expected her to be so difficult. He pondered for a moment and decided to yield to her wishes for now, just to put on a show. After all, she was to be married off tomorrow to ward off bad luck; it was uncertain whether she would even survive.

If the groom were to die because of her, perhaps this wretched girl would be buried along with him anyway.

With that thought, Yan Huaichen gritted his teeth and said, "I agree."

Madam Xu wanted to object, but considering her current predicament, she opened her mouth yet ultimately said nothing.

Jiu Mu naturally noticed the calculation in his eyes and could guess his intentions, but she did not care.

"Then let us go."

Jiu Mu stood up and habitually moved to straighten her clothes, but seeing how filthy she was, she let her hand drop. She held a rope in her hand, the other end tied to Madam Xu’s wrists. Like a tethered beast, Madam Xu walked forward. She felt humiliated—never had she been treated this way—but to save her own life, she had no choice but to submit and try to hide the rope under her sleeves.

"Where are you going?" Yan Huaichen asked hurriedly.

"Back to where I am staying, naturally. Surely Father wouldn't want the physician to treat the eldest young lady of the Yan family in a place like this?" Jiu Mu teased.

Hearing her call him "Father" made Yan Huaichen feel inexplicably uncomfortable, but he held back his rebuttal. This was, after all, a family scandal; if outsiders were to find out, his family’s reputation would be ruined.

As Jiu Mu stepped out of the room, she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. The warmth enveloped her cold body, and for the first time, she truly felt that she was alive. She scanned her surroundings—a kitchen and a woodshed. The place where she had been held was clearly a utility room, which explained the stench of rot and mildew.

"Prepare some food for me; I am hungry," she ordered a nearby servant and walked straight out of the courtyard.

She wandered as if touring the grounds, curiously asking questions about every courtyard she passed. Yan Huaichen was unwilling to engage with her, but Madam Xu, fearing her threats, had to answer honestly.

"Lixiang Courtyard—a pleasant name," Jiu Mu remarked, looking at a pear tree reaching over the wall, heavy with golden fruit and emitting a faint, sweet fragrance.

As Jiu Mu stepped into the courtyard, Madam Xu immediately said, "No! This is Ling'er's courtyard."

Ling'er? Yan Qingling? What a coincidence. That made her even more determined to stay there.

"Sister Ling'er has lived in luxury since childhood; she will surely be willing to yield this courtyard to her elder sister," Jiu Mu said, dragging her inside.

She took a casual glance before entering the room. It was elegantly furnished, showing just how comfortably Yan Qingling lived.

"Someone, fetch water. I wish to bathe."

Jiu Mu then looked at Yan Huaichen, who was standing at the doorway. "I must trouble you to wait here for a moment, Father, and perhaps assist in welcoming the physician."

The servants in the courtyard looked at each other. Seeing that their master and mistress, despite their grim expressions, did not attempt to stop her, they wisely went to prepare the water.

Yan Huaichen did not care where she stayed, as long as she caused no trouble and survived until tomorrow; once that was over, everything would be settled.

Because of her injuries, Jiu Mu only took a quick wash, changed into clean clothes, and returned to the room just as the physician arrived.

After the physician prescribed the medicine and left, Yan Huaichen said in a low, heavy voice, "Now, everything has been done as you asked. Aren't you going to release your mother?" He had been so furious that he had nearly let the physician see Madam Xu in her pathetic state.

"Now? Is Father speaking to me?" Jiu Mu chuckled.

Yan Huaichen huffed, assuming a posture that suggested she shouldn't play dumb.

Jiu Mu’s laughter grew, laced with mockery. "But that is not my name. Does Father not even know what I am called?"

It was not just him; it was likely that no one in the entire Yan family knew, for they hadn't even bothered to give her a name when they sent her away all those years ago. And now, they had even mistaken her for someone else. Even if she didn't hide it, no one would notice she was an impostor, because no one cared.

The name "Liruo" was actually given to the sisters by a traveling monk they had encountered in their childhood, and so was "Jiu Mu."

"You..." Yan Huaichen was choked for words. He argued, "Regardless of your name, I am still your father."

Madam Xu was equally dazed; she had always called her "little slut" or "wretched girl" and had indeed overlooked her name.

"Then remember this: my name is Jiu Mu."

She was used to her own name, and there was no need to go through the trouble of using a fake one with these people.

Yan Huaichen repeated the name silently in his heart and couldn't help but frown. What a strange name; she must have made it up herself. He could never have imagined that the arrival of Jiu Mu would change his fate and the destiny of the entire Yan family.

"Father, please return. As for Mother, she shall stay and keep me company for some heart-to-heart talk. After all, I am to be married off tomorrow." Jiu Mu yawned, dismissively showing them the door.