Cihua Courtyard
After Mumian announced her arrival, Zhao Luoning walked into Cihua Courtyard.
As soon as she entered, she saw the grand matriarch holding a chubby baby in her arms. The baby was as round as a glutinous rice dumpling with short arms and legs.
This little baby had quite a charm. The grand matriarch seemed much kinder. Seeing Zhao Luoning coming, she even greeted her with a smile.
"Luoning, look! Isn't this baby so cute?"
Ji Jianhui also saw Zhao Luoning. He tilted his head to take a look, then suddenly wriggled out of the grand matriarch's arms and toddled towards her on his short legs.
Ji Jianhui grabbed onto Zhao Luoning's clothes and called out in a soft, milky voice,
"Mum."
Zhao Luoning was stunned.
How could this kid mistake her for his mum?
The grand matriarch was quick - witted and said,
"This kid is so smart. He knows you're his legal mother."
"Grandma, you're joking. I dare not claim a child of unknown origin casually."
Hearing this, the grand matriarch's face darkened.
"What do you mean by unknown origin? Don't talk nonsense in front of the child!" With that, she waved at Ji Jianhui. "Come here, Huier, come to great - grandma."
But Ji Jianhui shook his head and held tightly onto Zhao Luoning's sleeve.
Just then, the curtain fluttered, and Ning Ruonian lifted it and walked in.
Seeing the people in the room, she stopped at the door.
Ji Jianhui was the first to notice Ning Ruonian. He let go of Zhao Luoning's clothes and his little head turned back and forth between the two of them.
"Eh? Two mums."
Only then did the grand matriarch notice Ning Ruonian.
The grand matriarch didn't notice the complex emotions in her eyes. She just thought she was shy around strangers and said,
"Ruenian, you're here. Come, let me introduce you. This is Shi Su's wife, the second young mistress of our Ji family."
Hearing the noise, Zhao Luoning also turned around. When she saw who it was, she frowned.
Ning Ruonian?
It was really her.
Zhao Luoning had a pretty good first impression of Ning Ruonian. She was talented and elegant, a nice girl.
She never thought that Ning Ruonian was also one of Ji Shisu's admirers.
It seemed that when she went to the tea - tasting banquet back then, she did it on purpose to get in touch with her.
It was a pity that such a nice girl had bad taste. She just had to fall for Ji Shisu.
Ning Ruonian walked in with heavy steps. With each step she took towards Zhao Luoning, her heart beat faster.
The grand matriarch watched as Ning Ruonian and Zhao Luoning stood side by side. From their figures, they did look a bit alike.
No wonder the kid had mistaken them.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the grand matriarch then stated the purpose of calling Zhao Luoning to Cihua Courtyard.
"Luoning, Huier has suffered a lot outside. Now that he's finally back, I was thinking if we could go to the clan as soon as possible to let Huier recognize his ancestors and return to the clan."
Zhao Luoning looked down at Ji Jianhui.
He was fair - skinned and chubby, clearly having been well - cared for.
This was suffering a lot?
Zhao Luoning smiled and said, "Grand matriarch, it's not that I'm against letting him enter the family register. But the second master just said that only my child can be the eldest grandson of the Ji family. You wouldn't want him to lose face, would you?"
The grand matriarch was also troubled by this declaration.
"At that time, we didn't know about Huier. Now the situation is different." The grand matriarch said nervously, "Don't even think about giving Huier away for adoption. Not unless I'm dead!"
"Since you've said so, as your granddaughter - in - law, I naturally can't let anything happen to you. How about this? Adopt this child to me. In this way, the second master's promise will be fulfilled, and the child can also recognize his ancestors and return to the clan."
The grand matriarch looked at Ning Ruonian in a dilemma.
Although there was a rule that children born to concubines should be registered under the name of the legal wife.
Adoption was different from just being registered.
Once adopted, the child would only be considered Zhao Luoning's. The child would have to follow Zhao Luoning, and she would be fully responsible. Even if Ning Ruonian was the birth mother, she would have no right to take care of the child anymore.
The grand matriarch knew how attached Ji Jianhui was to his mother. She didn't want to see mother and child separated. She advised, "The child will be registered under your name anyway. You've never given birth, so you may not know how to take care of a child. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"Grand matriarch, it's not that I'm trying to make things difficult for you. My father has been so angry that he hasn't eaten for several days. If you don't give an explanation, the friendship between the Ji and Zhao families for so many years may really end in our generation."
Actually, for the grand matriarch, all she cared about was her grandson. As long as the grandson was there, she didn't care about anything else.
She looked at Ning Ruonian and asked,
"Ruenian, what do you think?"
Ning Ruonian had been staring at Zhao Luoning in a daze. When she was called on, she came back to her senses. After hearing Zhao Luoning's request, she said without hesitation, "Sure."
The grand matriarch asked in surprise, "This means giving away your own child. Are you really willing?"
Ning Ruonian nodded without thinking. "I'm willing!"
As long as it was what the other person wanted.
The stars in the sky, the moon in the water, even her own life, she would give it.
Zhao Luoning was also shocked by Ning Ruonian's generosity.
This Ning Ruonian was either stupid.
Or a master in the power struggles within the mansion.
A person who could come to the mansion with a child couldn't be stupid.
So it must be the latter.
Zhao Luoning suddenly felt that things were getting tricky.
Ning Ruonian didn't play by the rules. What should she do?
She couldn't really take this baby who could barely walk back home and raise him, could she?
But since the words had been said, it was hard for her to take them back. She could only say, "Since Miss Ruenian is so generous, let's wait for the second master to come back. After we inform him, we'll go to the clan to handle the adoption procedures."
With that, she bid farewell to the grand matriarch and left Cihua Courtyard.
The grand matriarch didn't expect things to turn out this way. She stood there in a daze for a long time.
What on earth was Ning Ruonian thinking? How could she give up her own child?
Not long after Zhao Luoning left Cihua Courtyard, Ning Ruonian actually caught up with her, holding the child in her arms.
"Sister, please wait."
This address made Zhao Luoning's heart skip a beat. She stopped and turned to look at Ning Ruonian.
What did she just call her?
Ning Ruonian walked towards her quickly, holding the child. Seeing Zhao Luoning's surprised face, she realized that she had called out the wrong name in a moment of desperation. She quickly explained,
"You're the second young mistress. Can't I call you sister?"
Zhao Luoning thought for a while.
According to their status, she was indeed above Ning Ruonian. It was reasonable for her to be called sister.
But in the Ji Mansion, Ning Ruonian was the first one to call her that.
This actually made Zhao Luoning feel on guard.
What? Was she starting to use the soft - hearted approach to get closer to her?
Zhao Luoning quickly said, "Just call me the second young mistress like everyone else. Don't call me sister. I'm not used to it, and I don't want to be your sister."
Zhao Luoning's words made Ning Ruonian look dejected. She squatted down and put Ji Jianhui on the ground. Her voice became much duller.
"Sister, I..."