Lin Wanwan listened to Hong Yan’s words, pondered for a moment, and said, "Since she is a guest of the mansion, I ought to visit. But since you mentioned that she is reclusive by nature, she may not necessarily want to see me. How about this, you deliver this gift for me, we can’t possibly exclude only her." Hong Yan seemed a bit troubled and said, "Lady, you may not know, the young lady residing in the Bamboo Garden is difficult to approach, but her status is quite noble. If I were to deliver the gift..." Lin Wanwan understood. This was someone within the Xiao Family who was both bothersome yet needed to be appeased. Lin Wanwan had previously inquired from Steward Old Chen but had never heard of such a person. None of the people she previously visited mentioned her either. This was quite odd, and it made Lin Wanwan a bit curious. She looked at Hong Yan for a while before saying calmly, "In that case, you lead the way and knock on the door. If she welcomes us, we’ll go in; otherwise, we’ll drop it, as long as the etiquette is observed." Hong Yan did not immediately obey but looked towards Qingyu and said, "The people there have some ’Heavenly Defects and Earthly Defects,’ it’s better if the young lady does not go, lest she be frightened." Lin Wanwan was slightly startled, was it that strange? A noble young lady surrounded by a group of people with ’Heavenly Defects and Earthly Defects’? However, since Hong Yan, a servant here, said so, it wouldn’t be without reason. She then told Yun Shang, "You take Xiao Yue’er back to our room first. After this walk, she’s tired." Unexpectedly, Xiao Yue’er did not want to comply and insisted on following. But Lin Wanwan, fearing it would frighten her, firmly insisted she did not come along, coaxing her, "Be good, Xiao Yue’er, go back with Aunt Yun Shang, and I’ll reward you with a piece of chocolate today. Let Aunt Yun Shang fetch it for you, okay?" Xiao Yue’er’s eyes turned and she nodded vigorously, "Okay, but mother, you have to come back soon." "Hmm, good girl, go now." After Yun Shang saluted Lin Wanwan, she took Qingyu away. Only after the two disappeared behind the courtyard wall did Lin Wanwan say to Hong Yan, "Lead the way." "How should we address the person residing inside? How old is she? How is she different from others?" Hong Yan replied, "Her given name is Yixun, just turned sixteen, hmm, she is unusually fair, you’ll see when you meet her." Unusually fair? Could it be albinism? "Is her hair and eyebrows white too?" It seems to be albinism undoubtedly, which is quite unfortunate. Albinism isn’t curable even with modern medicine, let alone in the Great Tang. Presumably, she was ridiculed by others since childhood, which explains her reclusive nature. Who wouldn’t be reclusive in her place? The Bamboo Garden was located just beyond a grove of bamboo, and after walking through a path in the woods, they arrived at the courtyard gate. Hong Yan took a deep breath and stepped forward to knock on the door. A moment later, the door opened, revealing a young boy with a cleft lip, which took Hong Yan by surprise as she suppressed her fear and said, "Today, Lady Lin has come to the mansion, especially to visit the young lady." The cleft-lip boy tilted his head, looking past Hong Yan toward Lin Wanwan. After a while, he said indifferently, "You may come in." With that, he pulled open the gate with a creaking sound. Lin Wanwan saw the cleft-lip boy and showed no sign of surprise. She had seen someone back in her grandparents’ village, a child born from an older widow’s remarriage. Before the area was redeveloped, the man whom the widow remarried was not well-off, so they didn’t consider prenatal care, and eventually gave birth to a son with a cleft lip, which became a topic among the villagers. Even though the child later had surgery, there were still marks on his lips, and being ridiculed often by peers made him equally reclusive and unwilling to go out. Lin Wanwan had seen him a few times and did not think much of it. Now they quietly followed the cleft-lip boy into the courtyard. As they encountered the sweeping servants along the way, they indeed noticed what Hong Yan said: some appeared foolhardy like they had cognitive impairments, and others had crooked mouths and squinting eyes—all very abnormal. This place was practically a walking exhibit of human deformities. Lin Wanwan’s brows furrowed slightly. Why did it feel so eerie! A single cleft lip was nothing, a single case of polio was nothing either, but when so many people looked abnormal, it was somewhat distressing. But now that they were here, turning back seemed inappropriate, so they continued. A moment later, they arrived at the room door. Hong Yan stood outside and spoke loudly, "Young lady, my lady just arrived at Xiao Mansion today, especially to visit." Read full story at 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥 The door suddenly opened, and out came a girl with skin as white as snow—truly snow-white, even her attire was immaculate and untainted by any decoration. The girl raised her gray-blue eyes silently, directly staring at Lin Wanwan. Even her eyelashes were white, yet very thick. Lin Wanwan assessed the girl, secretly marveling. Despite her white hair and eyebrows, her features were astonishingly delicate; her cold visage possessed a breathtaking beauty. If Xiao Chong was handsomely ethereal, this girl was eerily unearthly. Compared to the oddly shaped servants in this courtyard, the mistress was certainly a beauty of national proportions. Seeing the other party remained silent, Lin Wanwan first performed a hand-crossing salute and then said, "I am Wanwan of the Lin Family, newly arrived, I hope to be in your care in the future." She turned to Hong Yan and said, "Present the gift." Hong Yan silently presented a box also containing facial soap, handing it to the mute girl standing ghost-like beside the white-haired lady. The reason she knew the girl was mute was, of course, because Hong Yan had interacted with her. After all, she was the direct daughter of the Xiao Family’s Imperial Uncle’s House, and being a guest here, no matter how strange, they couldn’t truly ignore her. The mute girl silently took the brocade box from Hong Yan’s hand, then retreated to the shadows, as light as a swallow, walking without any sound. Lin Wanwan felt odd and didn’t want to stay here watching the spectacle, so she forced a smile and said, "Now that the gift is delivered, I won’t disturb my cousin’s peace anymore. I take my leave." She said, performed a hand-crossing salute, and turned to leave. At that moment, the girl suddenly spoke, "Wait, won’t you ask my name?" The girl’s voice was clear like a mountain stream, with a touch of innocent naivety in her tone. Lin Wanwan lifted her head and smiled, "May I inquire how to address my cousin?" The girl replied, "My surname is Xiao, Xiao Yixun." With that, she brought out her hand from her sleeve, in her palm lay a piece of Mutton Fat Jade, engraved with her name. Lin Wanwan nodded, "Hello, Cousin Yixun, it’s a pleasure to meet you." Xiao Yixun looked at Lin Wanwan and asked, "Pleasure? What does pleasure look like?" Lin Wanwan raised an eyebrow, "Pleasure is an emotion, a feeling of joy and happiness." Xiao Yixun remained silent, then nodded, "Goodbye." With that, she turned and went back inside, never having invited Lin Wanwan in—which, of course, the latter had no intention of doing anyway.