Father Taking the Blame

Hearing this, I abruptly raised my head. "Madam, my father is immensely loyal. Previously, when Madam had nightmares and required human blood to soothe your spirit, he immediately had my mother draw a bowl of fresh blood. Upon hearing that the Eldest Miss was in trouble, my father, in his panic, even broke the late Master's ancestral tablet. How can Madam use the excuse that he was not a servant born in the manor to doubt his loyalty?"

The First Madam said in a rage, "Guan Cheng, that is your father!"

"Precisely because he is my father, I will not allow anyone to slander him!" I said with indignation. "Previously, I did not understand my father's intentions and failed to take the blame for the Eldest Miss, causing my father's loyalty to go unrecognized. This time, no matter what, I will let my father express his loyalty."

Turning around, I kowtowed to my father again. "Father, go. Do not worry about mother and me. Everything you taught your daughter about humility, respect, and complete loyalty, your daughter will keep engraved in her heart."

"Good!" The Second Master clapped. "Guan Qing, I never expected Big Brother to have such a loyal and devoted person by his side."

The shouts of soldiers echoed from the front courtyard.

"Hurry," the Second Master whispered. "Do as I say."

With that, he patted my father's shoulder. "It is merely taking Third Brother's place in the imperial prison for a few days. The Su family will handle everything; we will absolutely not let you suffer any injustice in there."

Hearing these words, which were identical to how my father had told me to take the blame for Su Yueying in my past life, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

When I returned home, my mother was sitting at the table, wiping her tears. Seeing me return, her eyes widened. "Ah Cheng?"

"Mother, it's me." I threw myself into her arms, pressing my face against her chest.

"It's Mother's fault. I shouldn't have let your father take you away." Tears flowed along the wrinkles on her face as she held me tightly. "It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back."

My father despised my mother; I had always known this.

I used to think it was because my mother was quiet and my father was too busy. I had also wondered—my father was a personal servant to the Eldest Master and held some status, while my mother was merely a laundry woman. As someone born in the manor, I should have been assigned to work in the inner courtyard, yet from the age of seven, I was made to labor in the garden. When I was small and couldn't lift the flower pots, I was even punished.

The butler had mentioned transferring me to lighter duties more than once, but my father had said, "There is no need to show her favoritism."