The people in the room followed Qi Xiu Nan out, leaving only an old maid. She must be Madam Qi's most trusted person and knew a lot about Madam Qi's affairs. She occasionally looked up at Qu Moying with a gentle and sad look in her eyes, and her eyes were slightly red.
Just now, Qu Moying heard Madam Qi calling her Nanny Zhu.
"Madam Qi, I came here today to tell you something. This matter concerns our two families." Qu Moying said calmly, looking at Madam Qi quietly, without anger or resentment.
Madam Qi's expression suddenly tightened, and then she nodded.
"Madam, I know my mother's life story. I also know why she couldn't show up in public for so many years when she was in Yuefu, Jiangnan. I also know why she wanted to marry into the capital. But all this is in the past. My mother is gone. There is no need to continue with all this. My mother is my mother, and I am me."
Qu Moying said.
“But…” Mrs. Qi became excited and a blush appeared on her pale face.
"Madam Qi, there is no but. Mother has no relationship with your family. Since mother's position has been taken away by someone, she is just Yue's daughter, Yue's biological daughter. She has no relationship with your family and will never have any relationship."
Qu Moying continued to speak calmly, as if he was talking about someone else's affairs, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Madam Qi couldn't help crying any longer, "But your mother is my real daughter!"
Since Qu Moying had already guessed everything and there was no one else here, Madam Qi's words came out of her mouth. These words weighed heavily on her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. When she woke up in her dreams at midnight, she seemed to see a bloody figure countless times.
I can no longer remember her face, but I can sense her sad and resentful eyes.
She said that they gave birth to her but then didn't care about her, causing her to die tragically at the hands of others, leaving behind her only daughter, with no one to take care of her.
Mrs. Qi also cried in her dream, feeling sad and regretful. She repeatedly promised her daughter that she would take care of her daughter and would never let her daughter suffer the same fate as her...
"So what? My mother is dead, and she was murdered. Madam Liu must have had her hand in this, but didn't you all turn a blind eye to it? In that case, why bother talking about the two families? Just pretend that the two families never had much of a relationship, just like the Duke of Qi's Mansion and my mother back then."
When their eyes met, Qu Moying even showed a faint smile on his face, and he quietly looked back at the sad and helpless Madam Qi.
Madam Qi reached out and grabbed Qu Moying's hand, her whole body trembling: "We can't do anything, we really can't do anything. Your grandfather was confused back then and sent your mother away, leaving his eldest brother's daughter behind. I... I just realized that if I had known earlier..."
Madam Qi could no longer speak and burst into tears.
Qu Moying did not forcefully retract her hand, but just looked at Madam Qi quietly, her voice carrying a hint of sigh: "Even if she had known back then, would Madam Qi have brought my mother back? Would she have cleared my mother's name? Or would she have given my mother, the legitimate daughter of Duke Qi's mansion, a status worthy of her?"
These questions, one by one
These words hit Mrs. Qi's heart hard.
Qu Moying's questions were not forceful, and one could even say they became weaker with each sentence. In the end, what she asked for was not the status of a biological daughter of the Duke of Qi, but only a status equivalent to that of a young lady of the Duke of Qi. Just as Madam Qi had proposed before, to adopt Xiao Yue as her goddaughter and give her a status equivalent to that of a legitimate young lady of the Duke of Qi.
In fact, the request was not much. Even though she knew she was her biological daughter, but for the special circumstances at the time, couldn't Xiao Yue be a goddaughter? She could even be an inconspicuous goddaughter who didn't appear in front of everyone and was always locked up in the backyard, just like in Jiangnan.
Just give her a formal title of goddaughter!
She was obviously her biological daughter, but she only asked for so little. It was like a steel knife stabbing into Madam Qi's heart. It hurt so much that she couldn't speak. She reached out and covered her chest tightly, but she was unable to answer Qu Moying's words.
This is a question that really asks you.
This shattered Madam Qi's self-righteousness. She felt that what happened back then was the old Duke's fault and had nothing to do with her. She was wholeheartedly trying to find her daughter back. If she had known what happened earlier, she would have recognized her daughter at all costs.
But is it really true
"At that time, the Duke of Qi's Mansion was afraid that others would find out about mother and all this, so they tried their best to get rid of mother. They also had less and less relationship with the Yue family in Jiangnan, and never asked about mother's affairs. Otherwise, they would not know who the Yue family wanted to arrange for mother to marry, and even snatched the marriage that mother had originally arranged. Her biological parents snatched the marriage and gave it to another woman who had originally stolen her identity. If mother were still alive, I'm afraid she would be very upset!"
Qu Moying's eyes turned red. She reached out and firmly pulled her hand out from Madam Qi's hand, pulling apart Madam Qi's fingers one by one.
"Ying'er!" Madam Qi wanted to grab Qu Moying's hand eagerly, but she had already sat up straight again. She retracted her hand, feeling heartbroken, as if only holding Qu Moying's hand could give her the courage.
When that thin layer of paper was pierced, she realized that all the methods she thought she had used to make up for it were really nothing.
"Madam, it's all in the past. Don't ask me to compensate for what my mother didn't get. I'm not my mother, so I can't forgive you on her behalf. I can't act as if nothing happened and love Madam Liu as a family, using my mother's blood to embellish our glory."
Qu Moying seemed not to notice the pain and desire in Madam Qi's eyes. "Your family should stop trying to adopt a goddaughter. The Jiangnan Yue family has been kept in the dark. If they knew that Madam Liu was involved in my mother's death, they would never compromise. Even if they just adopted my mother, their love for her is no less. My mother didn't lack love. She just lacked love after she came to the capital."
The last sentence was like a heavy punch to Mrs. Qi's heart. She leaned back and almost fainted.
Nanny Zhu hurried forward, supported Madam Qi, and said anxiously, "Madam, Madam!"
While shouting, she reached out to take the teacup on the table. Qu Moying stood up, walked to the table, and poured her a cup of warm water. Nanny Zhu took it and fed Madam Qi a few sips. Madam Qi finally came to her senses and burst into tears.
The room fell silent except for Madam Qi's uncontrollable crying. Qu Moying sat down again and looked quietly at the handkerchief in her hand.
The handkerchief was tied into a knot when she was talking just now, and even if the knot was undone, the wrinkles on it were inevitable.
After a long while, Madam Qi finally regained control. She looked up at Qu Moying with pleading eyes, "Is there really no other way? It's just the title of a goddaughter. In the future... in the future, when I see her in the underworld... I will definitely apologize in person. It's all our fault. It's... we who harmed her."
Qu Moying shook her head: "Madam, you didn't harm her, you just handed her the knife. The person who really harmed her is still alive and well, enjoying the honor of being the legitimate daughter of Duke Qi's mansion. Just for such a position, you can't tolerate my mother, and even told Jingyu County Lord that my mother was unfaithful and gave birth to me with Minister Liu."
Now that she had calmed down, Qu Moying spoke more logically, without anger or resentment. As early as when she recognized the facts, she had gradually calmed down her hatred.
Since we have never been relatives, just be an ordinary passerby.
As for being an ordinary passerby, the Duke of Qi’s Mansion has done a lot!
"This... this... how is it possible?" Mrs. Qi exclaimed.
"If the Madam doesn't believe it, you can ask County Lord Jingyu to come over and tell her that it was me who told the Madam about this." Qu Moying was as calm as ever.
The more excited she is, the more likely it is that something bad will happen. In fact, she really has nothing to be excited about now, as her mother is gone!
"Madam, don't worry. I will not clear my mother's name. My mother is the second daughter of the Yue family and she is willing to continue in this position. Your mansion will not have any accidents because of your involvement with my mother, and you will not expose the past events, so that the Duke of Qi's mansion will be punished by the emperor. Nothing will change."
Qu Moying smiled slightly and continued, "I just ask the Duke of Qi's Mansion to thoroughly investigate what happened back then! Find out who is behind this. Now that my mother is gone, who is the biggest beneficiary? Or, could this matter be related to the Northern Frontier? Did the Duke of Qi marry a royal bloodline, or a royal bloodline that had rebelled?"
Who benefits the most
On the surface, it seems to be the Yu family, but if you look deeper, isn’t the one who benefits the most Madam Liu
“This… this is impossible. She was still young at that time… she had never… she had never met your mother. Even I don’t know about the Duke’s affairs. It’s not that I haven’t checked, but it really has nothing to do with her… She… doesn’t know, she really doesn’t know!” Madam Qi said blankly.
She didn't believe what Qu Moying said, but she felt that there was something mysterious and problematic, but she couldn't find the key to the problem for the time being.
At that time, Xie Jiao had no way of knowing that there was such a person as Xiao Yue in this world, not even she herself knew.
"I heard that there are people from the Northern Frontier around Madam Liu, and they have been following Madam Liu for a long time. They should have been following Madam Liu when she was in Duke Qi's Mansion. What about the news from the Northern Frontier?" Qu Moying looked at Madam Qi and said word by word.
This one sentence revealed the answer that Mrs. Qi had never dared to think of, and her whole body trembled.
An old voice suddenly came from behind the door, "Have you found out anything?"