Shen Xiaoyan rolled her eyes internally, thinking her mother must be so excited she'd lost her mind.
A three-year-old child knew how to answer such a question, so how could her mother not?
Grinning, Shen Xiaoyan stated matter-of-factly, "Didn't Xiao He just say that a mysterious person brought them here?"
After speaking, Shen Xiaoyan blinked innocently, as if to prove she was telling the truth.
Zhen Lingrong, at this moment, felt like spitting blood.
Taking a deep breath, Zhen Lingrong asked again, "If you let a mysterious person take the children away, wouldn't you be afraid they wouldn't bring them back? What would you do then?"
Shen Xiaoyan blinked again. "How could that be? With three children like these, who look like golden boy and jade maiden, how could anyone harm them? Besides, children this smart, one look and you know they must be descendants of important figures. Who would be so foolish as to target children who pose no threat to them? Don't you think so?"
Although Zhen Lingrong admitted that Shen Xiaoyan's flattery was quite pleasant to hear.
However, she didn't believe a single word of it.
But she also understood that Shen Xiaoyan would absolutely not tell her the truth now.
Even these three seemingly soft and cute little ones were definitely not as small and innocent as they appeared on the surface.
Sighing inwardly, Zhen Lingrong thought to herself.
After all, she was merely curious and, more importantly, worried about their safety.
Since Shen Xiaoyan and the others were all so confident and assured her there would be no problems, she didn't want to press further.
Otherwise, it would make Shen Xiaoyan and the others think she was prying into their secrets, which would not be good.
Just by observing that Shen Xiaoyan didn't object to the three little ones being close to her, she could guess that Shen Xiaoyan and the others had already accepted her.
As for getting any closer, it would still require time.
There was still a long way to go, and she wasn't in any hurry.
When Xi He, Xi Jin, and Xi Yin returned, they saw such a harmonious scene.
Zhen Lingrong was surrounded by three adorable children, while Shen Xiaoyan and the others sat around them, looking at them with faint but incredibly happy smiles.
This scene was like an ordinary family sitting together, chatting and laughing, full of liveliness and happiness.
But it deeply pierced the eyes of Xi He, Xi Jin, and Xi Yin.
Especially Xi He, she looked at this scene almost frantically, her hatred and jealousy unable to be contained.
Why!
Why could they sit together so happily and peacefully, enjoying everyone's admiration and envy?
But what about her?
From childhood, her children were made to be close to the people she hated the most, and as they grew up, they weren't close to her.
Now she had to humble herself, scheme carefully, be respectful and cautious towards everyone.
Her children also had to live such a life worse than death with her.
And Zhen Lingrong?
How could she be so happy?
She was jealous, she hated!
Why was heaven so unfair?
Xi He didn't know how much effort it took for her to calm down.
After calming down, she took a deep breath, but inwardly she was庆幸 (qing xing),庆幸 (qing xing) that she was wearing a hat, so Zhen Lingrong and the others didn't see her expression just now.
However, what she didn't know was that from the moment they entered, Shen Xiaoyan and the others, although they didn't turn their heads, were all paying attention to them.
And the change in her expression under the hat was seen by all of them.
And when they saw her relieved expression, they all sneered.
There were not a few people in this world who were filled with jealousy and hatred, and they were not pitiful.
What was pitiful was that, despite being extremely jealous and hateful, they had to endure it and not let the other party discover it, and even feel smug that they hadn't been discovered.
They didn't know that in the eyes of others, they were no different from clowns.
After Xi He composed herself, she pulled Xi Jin and Xi Yin and walked towards Zhen Lingrong and the others.
They stopped about six steps away and bowed respectfully to pay their respects.
Finally, with curiosity, she asked, "Hall Master, may I ask who these three are?"
Although she already had a guess in her heart, she still wanted to ask, hoping she was overthinking.
Zhen Lingrong didn't even look at her and said lightly, "If there's nothing else, go back to your room and rest. Your mouth is swollen like this, and you still want to talk."
Xi He dared not think that Zhen Lingrong's words were out of concern for her; this was clearly disgust, thinking she was meddling too much.
Although she felt a little unwilling in her heart, she dared not ask any more questions.
What if she angered them and got beaten again?
Just as she was about to turn around, she heard the soft, sweet voice of a little girl, "Grandma, who is this person wearing a hat? Is she too ugly to show her face?"
Before Zhen Lingrong could answer, Zheng He nodded and said seriously, "Sister is right. She must be too ugly to show her face, that's why she's wearing a hat. But if she has no face to show, why did she come out?"
Zheng Jiang also joined the fun, saying, "I think you're all right. Since she's so ugly, she should stay in her room. Otherwise, what if the hat falls off and scares people?"
Hearing the soft voices of the three children calling her ugly, Xi He was furious.
There was no need to test, no need to ask. These were definitely Shen Xiaoyan's children.
Otherwise, why would they be as sharp-tongued as her?
Seeing Xi He's body begin to sway, Ruan Ruan spoke again, "Huh? Grandma, what's wrong? Why is her body swaying? Did we say something that hurt her feelings by calling her ugly, and now she feels sad and inferior, so she just wants to faint and not face it all?"
Listening to Ruan Ruan, Shen Xiaoyan covered her face.
Was this truly her well-behaved and adorable daughter?
Although she had some doubts when she saw her in the space, the confirmation of facts still made her a little embarrassed.
A daughter this sharp-tongued... she quite liked her!
Especially since the person she was dealing with now was someone she disliked immensely.
Shen Xiaoyan cleared her throat and said, "Aren't you two going to quickly check on your mother? What if she really faints? Don't try to trick my Ruan Ruan by fainting. She was just speaking innocently."
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's serious tone, Xi He was even more furious.
Her guess was indeed correct; they were Shen Xiaoyan's children.
Xi He barely managed to suppress the urge to spit blood. She looked at Zhen Lingrong and said mournfully, "Hall Master, while I may not be as beautiful as you, I'm not ugly, am I? These three haven't even seen what I look like, yet they're slandering me with such words. Isn't that going too far?"
After speaking, Xi He felt everyone's eyes in the room fall on her in an instant.
These complex gazes made her a little uncomfortable.
What was wrong? Were her words just now incorrect?
She thought about it carefully, and she hadn't said anything excessive.
What she meant was that she wanted the three of them to apologize, and preferably for Shen Xiaoyan to apologize as well.
After a moment of silence in the room, Lin Xin suddenly burst into laughter. The laughter was somewhat sudden, scaring Xi He so much that she almost squatted down on the spot.
Looking at Lin Xin with confusion, Xi He pondered for a moment before cautiously asking, "Elder Lin, what are you laughing at? Did I say something wrong?"
Lin Xin shook his head with laughter. "Nothing wrong, nothing wrong. Then why don't you take off your hat and let the children see how beautiful you are, so they can quickly apologize to you, right?"
Xi He was stunned upon hearing this.
She knew very well what she looked like right now.
Her face was swollen to a terrifying degree, and even her features were unrecognizable.
If someone saw her like this in the middle of the night, they would think she was a ghost!
With her current face, if the three little brats saw it, they would definitely say something even more infuriating, so she absolutely could not take off her hat.
Taking a deep breath, Xi He said, "I have injuries on my face right now, so it's not convenient... I'm afraid of scaring the Hall Master and the Elders, so it's best not to look."
Lin Xin laughed again upon hearing this. "Since you admit yourself that you are ugly and cannot be seen, how can you say the three little darlings are wrong? They merely have good eyesight. Even through a veil, they can still see your ugly face. It's laughable that you still have the audacity to speak so righteously."
"..."
For a moment, Xi He didn't know how to respond to Lin Xin's words.
Why did she feel like Lin Xin was not on the same wavelength as her at all?
What he was saying was completely nonsensical.
Clearly, her words didn't mean that at all.
Before she could argue further, Xi Jin pulled her sleeve.
Because of this pull, Xi He instantly woke up.
She understood that Lin Xin was clearly teasing her, and no matter what she said, it would always lead back to this point.
"Elder Lin, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to act like this? Spoiling children like this is not good for them. If they make a mistake, you should tell them it's wrong. Otherwise, even when they grow up..."
"How I raise my children is my business, and it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to worry about it," Shen Xiaoyan coldly interrupted Xi He.
"If you feel they were wrong just now, then reveal your face and prove they are wrong. If you don't dare, then it means they are right. As for how they saw it, what does it have to do with you? Besides, when did you become an expert at educating children? Making your own children pretend to be good and charming in front of others from a young age, is that your success?"
Shen Xiaoyan's words were like a sudden blow, making Xi He's body sway again, and finally she couldn't say anything.
Seeing Xi He like this, Shen Xiaoyan suddenly felt bored.
Every time it was a verbal spat, and every time she lost so embarrassingly, yet she never learned her lesson.
Was this really fun?
Looking at the displeased faces of Xi Jin and Xi Yin beside her, it was clear they were extremely embarrassed, but out of respect for their mother, they didn't dare to say anything.
For a moment, Shen Xiaoyan felt pity for them.
Having such a mother was also their misfortune.
But this feeling only lasted for a moment.
People couldn't choose their parents, but they could choose their temperament. Their current temperament, although partly influenced by Xi He, was also their own willing choice, wasn't it?
The path they chose, even if it was extremely difficult, even if it was embarrassing at times, they could only continue to walk.
"Go back. You all go back."
Finally, Zhen Lingrong spoke, asking them to leave.
Of course, it wasn't to save the last shred of dignity for these three, but because with them around, she couldn't properly play with the children.
Xi He, Xi Jin, and Xi Yin also had no desire to stay. Upon hearing Zhen Lingrong's words, they quickly turned around and left.
After the door to the room they were in closed, Zhen Lingrong smiled and looked at Ruan Ruan again.
"Ruan Ruan, who taught you to say those things just now?"
Ruan Ruan opened her big eyes and looked innocently at Zhen Lingrong. "Nobody taught me. Ruan Ruan thought of it herself."
Seeing Zhen Lingrong's slightly furrowed brow, Shen Xiaoyan found it amusing.
Right now, Zhen Lingrong still thought Ruan Ruan and the others were just over three-year-old children. When time passed and she discovered it wasn't the case, what expression would she have?
Just thinking about it made Shen Xiaoyan find it fun.
Time flew by, and it was already noon. Shen Xiaoyan took out the ingredients and made a sumptuous lunch.
Ruan Ruan and the other two ate with some gusto. Ruan Ruan mumbled indistinctly, "I really miss mom's cooking. It's so delicious."