Chapter 6: Food Preparation

"I want my big brother to feed me." She made a gesture as she "said." Her eager expression coupled with the gesture, was a way of acting coyly towards Lady Mo and the others. After many years, they hadn't seen such a childish side of Ziwan, which left Lady Mo and the others stunned.

"Is that not okay?" Ziwan blinked her large eyes as she gesturingly "asked," her innocent expression easily melting everyone's hearts.

"Of course, it's okay." Mo Qingfeng responded, he seized the small bowl from Nanny Xia's hands and began feed Ziwan. Ziwan opened her little mouth, took a bite of the white rice porridge, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it contentedly.

Nanny Xia was taken aback when her bowl was snatched away, she noticed the eldest master squeezing in, hence reluctantly stood back and watched.

Lady Mo and Chancellor Mo happily watched as Ziwan ate the rice porridge Mo Qingfeng fed her spoon by spoon.

Mo Qingfeng was feeding her with loving care and Ziwan, due to extreme hunger, was eating seriously. In the eyes of Lady Mo and Chancellor Mo, it was a heartwarming sight. In no time at all, the small bowl of porridge finished till not a single grain of rice was left. Even then, she seemed to still crave for more.

Seeing Ziwan stick out her pink little tongue to lick the corner of her mouth, Mo Qingfeng knew that his sister hadn't had her fill. "That's all for today, we can make more for you in the afternoon. You haven't eaten properly for a few days now, you can't eat too much at once." He put the bowl down and gently said.

"Eldest young master, please wipe the lady's mouth." Xueyan quickly handed over a handkerchief.

Mo Qingfeng took the handkerchief and carefully wiped Ziwan's mouth. "Hold on a bit longer."

"Wait a while, and Second Brother will feed you." Mo Qingyun approached the bedside jovially. He was slightly envious when he saw his elder brother feeding his sister, the usually aloof Ziwan never softened on him regardless of his efforts to please her. Now that Ziwan's personality has changed a bit, he wanted to connect more emotionally with Ziwan.

After having a bowl of food, Ziwan finally felt a bit more energetic. She looked around with her big eyes, contemplating whether she ought to make up some excuses to tell her parents and brothers who cared about her, so they would realize that she had changed and not suspect anything.

"I want everyone else to leave. I want to talk to you." She used sign language to tell Chancellor Mo and Lady Mo.

The sweet smile on Ziwan's face dazzled Mo Linglong, making her both annoyed and relieved. Ziwan's personality had always been aloof, largely living in her own world. Regardless of who tried to please her, she always met them coldly, aside from her slightly better treatment of Xueyan, Xueyuan, and Nanny Xia.

As the illegitimate daughter of Mo Manor, despite her father, Lady Mo and her two brothers' indifference, she was never deprived of her necessities. She, Mo Linglong, was the one who was seen in public in the capital, not Ziwan, who was the legitimate daughter. Now it seemed that although Ziwan had forgotten her past and her insecurities, the interaction she had with her family was something Mo Linglong could never solicit. It was a lie to say she wasn't jealous; her heart ached.

However, as part of Mo Manor, she knew that she was Ziwan's sister. The bond of blood is inseparable, and though she was selfish, deep down she still hoped that Ziwan could get better. Otherwise, the lady, the father, and the brothers in Mo Manor would never truly be happy. She was so conflicted.

"Everyone out." Chancellor Mo swung his hand and ordered sternly after seeing his daughter's gesture.

Upon hearing his command, the other serving women left with their heads bowed.

Mo Linglong and Second Aunt paused for a moment, seeing the Chancellor's glaring eyes, they followed behind the servants, dispiritedly leaving to their rooms.

"What do you want to say? Go ahead." Lady Mo sat by the bed, gently held her daughter's hand, and spoke softly, seemingly afraid to frighten her.

Ziwan didn't "speak," merely looked coldly at Nanny Xia. This woman was really annoying, she was still treating Ziwan as a child. "You go out," her signs hardly polite.

Nanny Xia widened her eyes, almost unable to believe what she saw. The young lady changed her personality! And the change was swift.

"Did you not see what the young lady said?" Mo Qingfeng sternly asked. He didn't like the arrogant Nanny Xia who couldn't distinguish right from wrong and flaunted her uniqueness in every possible way. He wondered if Nanny Xia ever considered that if it was not for her being Ziwan's wet nurse, would she even have a place here? She's been tolerable till now because Ziwan relied on her, but over the years she had become increasingly arrogant. Now that Ziwan finally knew her place, there was no reason to put up with her attitude.

Nanny Xia shrank her neck, lowered her head, and left in surprise.

"Now can you speak?" Chancellor Mo asked with a smile as he sat on the chair beside the bed. He adored this gentle daughter of his.

"In my dreams, someone keeps teaching me a lot of things, but I don't know if it's good or bad?" Ziwan frowned as she 'said,' all the while praying to the gods that her lie wasn't found out. Alright, she has never believed in any gods or Buddha. She also didn't know whether gods or Buddha would bless her.

"Really? That's a good thing! It must be a deity who couldn't resist teaching you because you are good. What did he teach you?" Mo Qingyun asked jovially.

"I don't know, showed me a lot of books, I don't understand much." She acted as if she was struggling.

"If he gives you books to read, you should read them. It won't harm you. If you don't want to read, you don't have to." Lady Mo chided mildly.

Chancellor Mo didn't think much about it either. It could be that after Ziwan fell in the water, her brain got fuzzy, hence she had such thoughts. However, even if it's true, it wouldn't matter, reading books never harms anyone.

Ziwan felt a sense of triumph inside. She had said it, whether they believe or not was not her problem. Having said all this today, if they notice any changes in her later, she can attribute it to her dream reading.

She grinned rather wickedly as she thought.

"You just woke up, you shouldn't tire yourself. Rest now. We'll go back. When you wake up, Physician Zhou's medicine should be ready. You must take the medicine then." Chancellor Mo saw her exhausted expression, and he and his wife got up.

Lady Mo tucked Ziwan in nicely. "Sweetheart, have a good sleep. When you wake up, everything will be fine." Her voice was soft and soothing, almost serving as a lullaby. Ziwan's eyelids began to droop.

She slept on until late evening, until she woke up and struggled to sit up.

"Miss, you are up." Xueyan and Xueyuan came in happily, rolled up the mosquito net and hung it properly.

Ziwan looked at the two young girls, grinned without making a sound, and the joyous expressions on these maids' faces didn't seem fake. They really cared about her. Ziwan has never been insincere to those who truly cared for her.

Unfortunately, her bangs were too long and covered her smile, so the two maids did not notice her changes. Otherwise, they would be so startled they would have thrown the things in their hands.