"Twelve years ago, my husband and I lived in a village on the outskirts of the city and made a living by selling vegetables. Our family was not wealthy, but we lived a good life. The only flaw was that I was infertile. After seeking medical treatment from many sources but to no avail, I gradually gave up and thought that if the right opportunity came, I would have a child to raise.
During the Lantern Festival that year, my husband went to see the lanterns, but I didn't go with him because I was not feeling well. Around two o'clock in the morning, my husband came back with a sleeping baby girl in his arms. I asked him where she came from, and he said he picked it up at the lantern market.
The child was wearing tattered clothes and had a dirty face. My husband said that the child was someone else's unwanted child, so I didn't think much about it and just kept the child.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, there was a sudden commotion in the village, saying that the young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was missing, and the officers and soldiers were sent to look for her everywhere. The head of the village received an order from above and went door to door with the young lady's portrait to investigate, saying that if anyone found out who hid the child, all nine generations of the family would lose their heads.
My husband heard the news and went out to look at the portrait. He discovered that the child in the portrait was the one he had brought back. He immediately panicked and hastily hid the child in the cellar to avoid the search.
After the searchers left, my husband told me the truth. He didn't pick up the child, but someone gave him ten taels of silver and asked him to steal it. He lost all his family fortune in gambling without my knowledge, and couldn't resist the temptation of the silver, so he did this foolish thing. In order to hide his tracks, he smeared mud on the child and changed his clothes.
After I learned the truth, I asked him to surrender himself immediately. However, he said that if he surrendered, not only would he lose his head, but I would be beheaded too. I was just a village woman with no opinion of my own, so I followed his words and fled with the children overnight after the first round of searches were over.
For fear of being caught, we didn't dare go to crowded places and hid in the mountains for several months. We dug wild vegetables to eat during the day, and my husband secretly went down the mountain at night to get some food for the children. We didn't dare stay in one mountain, so we kept changing places and lived like a savage.
Fortunately, the child was very well-behaved. He cried a few times in the first two days, but then he stopped and gradually began to call us dad and mom. A few months passed like this, and my husband suddenly contracted malaria and died within a few days. Before he died, he told me many times to take the child and stay away from home, and never return to the capital in this life.
I was a woman, penniless, with a child to carry with me. How far could I hide? I wandered from place to place and ended up at Hongou Manor. Fortunately, the second young master, who was away for the summer, was kind-hearted and asked the steward to take us in and give us two thatched houses to live in. At that time, the child was so thin and withered that she looked like a human being. No one recognized her, so we, mother and daughter, stayed at the manor until now."
Xiu'er Niang finished speaking in one breath, and her strength was exhausted, but she still managed to speak: "My lord, the above is all I know about the incident. I guarantee that every word is true and I dare not hide a single thing. I know that I have committed a serious crime and deserve death. I will let you deal with me as you wish. I only hope that you can keep your promise and not implicate innocent people."
Sheng Qingyun was speechless and leaned against the old lady, crying bitterly.
The old lady listened to her granddaughter's tragic experience and recalled the dark days she had lived in because of the loss of her child. She was also overwhelmed with grief and tears streamed down her face.
Song Ce never expected that Xiu'er had such a tortuous life experience, and Xiu'er's mother would most likely lose her head because of this.
He was still worshipping heaven and earth with music yesterday, but the next moment a disaster struck and he was separated from his loved ones forever. How could he bear it
"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, it was Xiu'er's father who stole the child, not Xiu'er's mother. Please spare her life for the sake of her mother's hard work in raising Xiu'er for more than ten years!" He knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for mercy for Xiu'er's mother.
Sheng Qingyun was crying bitterly, and flew into a rage when she heard this: "She is not guilty if she didn't steal? Tolerating and harboring someone is an accomplice to a crime. She has kidnapped my daughter for twelve years. Does she know how I suffer every day? Can a sentence of hardship be used to atone for her crime? My daughter should have grown up in luxury, but because of her and her husband's crimes, she has to live a life of poverty and hunger. After finally growing up with so much hardship, she was sent to the Marquis' Mansion to be a maid. If we don't find out, she might have to marry a servant for the rest of her life. You open your mouth and ask me to forgive her. Why? Why should I forgive her?"
The tearful questioning left Song Ce speechless. Even though he had no children, he could already feel the pain of losing a child.
"I said the wrong thing, please calm down, sir." He bowed his head and kowtowed a few more times, "But sir, Xiu'er doesn't know these things right now. If you kill Xiu'er's mother now, Xiu'er may not believe what you said at all, and may even hate you for killing her mother."
He has figured it out. Xiu'er's mother is indeed guilty. So if he wants to save her now, he can only pin his hopes on Xiu'er. He hopes that she will ask her family to spare Xiu'er's mother's life for the sake of their twelve years of dependence on each other.
How could Xiu'er's mother not know what he was thinking? She cried and said, "Don't say anything. I deserve this. Why should I embarrass Xiu'er anymore?"
The old lady was still sober, patted Sheng Qingyun's hand and said, "What he said is not without reason. Even if you want to kill her, you have to wait until this woman admits her crime to the child in person before killing her."
Sheng Qingyun vented her anger and gradually calmed down. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears and said coldly, "I will bring Xiu'er to see you as soon as possible. Before that, I will not kill you. Think carefully about how to tell her when the time comes!"
Xiu'er's mother cried so hard that she lost her voice.
Sheng Qingyun asked again, "Did your husband tell you who gave him the money to steal the child?"
"He didn't know the man. He just said he was a man in his forties with a black birthmark on the back of his left hand." Xiu'er's mother replied.
Speaking of birthmarks, Sheng Qingyun remembered the scar on the back of Xiu'er's neck and asked hurriedly, "What's the matter with the scar on Xiu'er's neck?"
Xiu'er's mother dodged her gaze for a moment, and said ashamedly: "A butterfly birthmark was deliberately drawn on the portrait. My husband was afraid that she would be recognized, so he burned it with charcoal while she was sleeping..."
Sheng Qingyun's heart ached, and the tears that had just stopped burst out again. He gritted his teeth and said, "How could he have the heart to do that to such a young child? He should be thankful that he died early, otherwise I would have torn him into pieces!"
"My poor granddaughter, what a crime she has suffered." The old lady was so distressed that she choked with sobs and said angrily, "Investigate, ask Xian'er to investigate and find out who is the black-hearted person who plotted against our family. If he is found out, he must be cut into pieces!"
Song Ce was frightened by the hatred between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. With such hatred, how could Xiu'er's mother be well
"Take good care of the patient. Tell her to take the medicine prescribed by the doctor and don't let her die." Sheng Qingyun wiped away her tears and gave instructions to the secret guard beside her in a deep voice. Then she left with the old lady and went back to discuss how to bring her daughter back.
As he stepped over the threshold, Sheng Qingyun suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask Xiu'er's mother, "Why do you call her Xiu'er?"
Xiu'er's mother hurriedly replied: "At that time, we didn't dare to call her by her full name. We heard her often muttering "Xiu'er, Xiu'er", so we just followed her and called her that."
Sheng Qingyun almost cried again, and said to the old lady: "Mother, do you still remember that my sister often brought Nan Jia to play with us at that time? Jinping liked her cousin very much. When she heard us call Nan Jia by her nickname, she also learned to call her by her nickname. She followed Nan Jia and called her Xiu'er. She even called her Xiu'er when she fell asleep..."
The old lady nodded repeatedly: "I remember, how could I not remember, I was laughing so hard at that time..."
As he spoke, he couldn't help feeling sad and took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went back to the old lady's courtyard together. Sheng Qingyun couldn't wait even a moment and asked the old lady to allow her to take people to the marquis's mansion to bring her daughter back right away.
The old lady thought for a moment and said, "I know you miss your daughter very much, but this matter is of great importance. You should discuss it with Xian'er first!"
"Then I will send someone to the government office to ask him to come back." Sheng Qingyun said.
"You are too impatient." The old lady was a little unhappy. "Calling him back in a hurry will inevitably lead to suspicions from those with ulterior motives. The child is in the mansion and can't run away. Can't you even wait until the evening?"
Sheng Qingyun's eagerness was dampened. She did not dare to disobey her mother-in-law, so she could only endure it for the time being and wait for her husband to come back in the evening before making further plans.
…
Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia wandered around until the afternoon before returning to the Marquis' Mansion.
Because she was worried about her son and the painting building, Xie Nanjia did not return to Yilan Courtyard, but went directly to Sijin Courtyard.
As the only grandson of Marquis Dingyuan, the favored little prince had the best food, clothing and other necessities. The room was burning with fine silver charcoal, making the whole room as warm as spring. A thick woolen blanket was spread on the floor, and the little prince, wearing a light and soft thin cotton jacket, crawled happily on it.
As soon as Xie Nanjia stepped in and saw her son sticking his butt out in a naive manner, all the tiredness from the journey instantly disappeared.
"I haven't seen you for a few days, how come you can crawl already..." Xie Nanjia talked to the nanny while squatting on one end of the blanket and clapped her hands gently. The child turned his head and saw her, grinned, turned around and quickly crawled towards her.
"It wasn't crawling fast yesterday, but it's crawling so fast since you came." The nurse said with a smile, "This child is just close to you."
Xie Nanjia enjoyed it very much. When the child came to her, just as she was about to reach out to hug him, the child turned around and crawled away again.
Several people in the room laughed: "Our young master is really good at teasing people."
The child crawled out a little, propped himself up with his hands, raised his head and looked back at everyone, giggling, with an innocent look.
Xie Nanjia thought this picture was great, and suddenly had an idea: "Tell the second young master later and ask him to send an artist to draw a set of crawling pictures for the little young master. When the little young master grows up, he can see what he looked like when he was a child."
"That's a good idea." The nurse was the first to agree, "But shouldn't we ask the prince for permission? He is the young master's father!"
Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and said, "I got off topic."
Jixiang looked at her with a half-smile and jokingly said, "Is someone missing the Second Young Master?"
Only the people in the West Courtyard and Yilan Courtyard knew that Xie Nanjia had returned to Hongou Manor, so Jixiang didn't know that she had been with the Second Young Master for the past two or three days.
"Where is Hualou?" Xie Nanjia blushed slightly and quickly changed the subject.
"Hua Lou went to see Aunt Liu." Jixiang said, "She hasn't been feeling well lately. She refused to see a doctor and went to play with Aunt Liu every day."
The matter of curing the poison in Hualou was never told to others. Every afternoon when he went to the West Courtyard, he lied that he was going to talk to Lvliu.
Xie Nanjia didn't expect that she had to go so early today. Since she heard Jixiang mention Lvliu, she played with her son for a while and then went to Lvliu.
When I got there, I found Zhao Jingping was there too. Lvliu was sitting in front of the window embroidering, while Zhao Jingping was drawing Lvliu embroidering on paper. At first glance, it seemed like a peaceful time.
Hearing the little girl's message, the two busy people stopped what they were doing and looked towards the door.
"Why are you here?" Lvliu hurriedly stood up to greet him. Zhao Jingping also put down his pen, his eyes sparkling as he asked with a smile, "Xiu'er is here?"
"Yeah." Xie Nanjia responded and was pulled by Lvliu to sit down. Before she could speak, Zhao Jingping said, "Xiu'er's figure is really wonderful. Even wearing such a thick winter coat, she is still slim and graceful. Why don't I draw a portrait of you?"
"Your old problem has come back again?" Lvliu's face was stern, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open.
Zhao Jingping waved his hands quickly: "No, no, I just want to paint."
Before Lvliu could start to scold, Xie Nanjia spoke up first, "I just came from Sijin Courtyard. The young master was learning to crawl on the carpet. It was very interesting to watch. I was planning to suggest to the prince that we ask an artist to draw a set of crawling pictures for the young master. Since the prince is eager to try, why not go and draw a set for the young master yourself? This will also give us the opportunity to get closer to him."
"Oh, my son can crawl now?" Zhao Jingping was awakened by his fatherly love and rubbed his hands, "I haven't visited my son for many days. In this case, I will go and check on him now."
As he spoke, he called a little maid in to help him get the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and then he happily went to paint his son's portrait.
"Look at him, he doesn't look like a father at all?" Lvliu complained.
Xie Nanjia actually heard a hint of coquettishness in her complaints.
"How is it? Has he been staying at your place these days?" Xie Nanjia asked.
"Yeah." Lvliu nodded and whispered, "The method you taught me really worked. Not only did he not go anywhere else, he also made a vow to me forever."
"Isn't it the words he always says that he vows to love you forever? Just believe half of it and don't take it all seriously." Xie Nanjia said.
"I'm really the fool." Lu Liu said, "If it wasn't for revenge for my young lady, I wouldn't bother to pay attention to him."
"Really?" Xie Nanjia gave her a meaningful look, "Are you not moved at all?"
A blush appeared on Lvliu's face, and she lowered her eyebrows and said, "I won't hide it from you. He is my first man and also my last. It is impossible for me to not be moved at all. And you also promised me that after I overthrow Qin Wanru, you will let me be the wife of the prince. If it is successful, there are still decades to come. I can't always live a cold life with him. My lady has a foundation and someone to rely on, so she dares to treat him like that. I can't do that. I have nothing except myself."
"I understand. I'm just asking a question in vain." Xie Nanjia said, "Just do it the way you feel most comfortable with. I'll take care of the rest!"
No matter what, Lvliu has come to this point today for her and the young master, so no matter what kind of life Lvliu chooses, she will fully support her, and the same goes for Hualou.
"Thank you, Xiu'er, you are so kind." Lvliu held her hand, deeply moved.
I am the one who should say thank you, Xie Nanjia said in his heart, patting Lvliu's hand, "I will leave if there is nothing else. You dominate the prince every day, and the Qin aunt and nephew are likely to harm you. You should be more careful."
"I won't have to worry about that. Don't worry." Luliu agreed and reluctantly sent her out the door.
When we returned to Yilan Courtyard, it was already dark and Zhao Lanzhi happened to have just returned from school.
Zhao Lanzhi was surprised and delighted by Xie Nanjia's return. She pulled her into the house and said happily, "How come you're back so soon? I thought you were going to stay with your mother for a few more days!"
"It's too cold there, I'm afraid the Second Young Master won't be able to get used to it." Xie Nanjia said, "How are you guys at home? Is everything alright?"
"It's okay, everything is fine." Zhao Lanzhi said.
"How can it be okay?" Su He interrupted, "Princess Anping never intended to agree to this marriage. Apart from sending an old maid to talk to the old lady that day, there was no further movement afterwards. Young Master Zhou was also confined to his house and not allowed to go out. Young lady was ridiculed by other young ladies in the academy every day, and people outside were also laughing at us."
"That's right, Xiu'er, you should think of a solution quickly!" Nanny Li also said.
"You should all stop talking." Zhao Lanzhi frowned unhappily, "It's not as serious as you say."
"How can it not be serious?" Nanny Li said, "The Madam will obviously not intervene for you. The old lady is too old to have the nerve to ask for help. If this continues in silence, people will almost forget about it."
Zhao Lanzhi suddenly got angry and slammed the table, saying, "Mammy, you keep repeating the same thing all day long. Are you treating me as unsaleable stock and want to get rid of it quickly? After all, I am still a daughter of the Marquis' Mansion. Why are you rushing to sell myself at a low price?"
Her anger came so suddenly that everyone in the room was frightened. Suhe and Zhen'er stared at each other and dared not say a word. Nanny Li's face changed several times and she raised her sleeves to wipe away her tears.
"I'm doing this for the young lady's sake, aren't I?" she said aggrievedly.
Zhao Lanzhi was still so angry that her chest heaved: "I know that Nanny is doing this for my own good, but you have been nagging me since I was ten years old, saying that I am not liked by my stepmother, and without my mother to rely on, I will definitely not be able to get married in the future. I am just a wooden man, and I am tired of hearing it after all these years. Nanny only worries about things that will happen, and has never really fought for me or made any efforts? Besides teaching me to endure all kinds of things, what else have you taught me?"
After being scolded, Nanny Li cried even more sadly, sobbing and saying that she was incompetent and useless, and had not taught the young lady well.
Zhao Lanzhi felt bad when she saw her crying, so she slowed down her tone and said, "Mammy, you have done a great job in raising me. I don't mean anything else. I just hope that Mammy won't think of me as something that can't be sold and worry about me all day. I may have lost my mother, but I still have my father, right? If I can't marry Mr. Zhou, are there no other young masters in the world?"
These words made Li Ma Ma feel ashamed. She bowed and said tremblingly, "I was wrong. I will never say that again. Miss, please forgive me this time!"
Zhao Lanzhi calmed down after losing her temper. She let out a long sigh and said slowly, "In fact, I have thought about it carefully these past few days. Without mother's help, some things are really hard to handle. So I am waiting for Xiu'er to come back and ask Fourth Aunt's opinion for me!"
Xie Nanjia looked at her and smiled with relief.
The motherless child finally grew up with bumps and bruises.
"Don't worry, Miss Fourth, I will go ask Fourth Aunt tomorrow morning." Xie Nanjia said with a smile, "Fourth Aunt will definitely be very happy."
…
At dinner time, the old Duke's wife said that she had not had dinner with the young Duke for a long time, and sent her servants to invite Su Xian and his wife and the old Duke to have dinner with her.
The old Duke loved collecting antiques when he was young, and he was particularly fond of ancient swords. After retiring, he became even more obsessed with them. All day long, he either went out to buy and exchange treasures, or locked himself in the collection room with a room full of treasures. He did not eat three meals a day with the old lady.
The old lady didn't bother to care about him and was happy by herself.
Therefore, when the old Duke was suddenly called to the dinner table by the old lady in such a serious manner, he intuitively felt that something unusual was going to happen.
There have been a lot of unusual things happening recently. My granddaughter was found a few days ago, the Queen Mother came yesterday, and I don’t know what will happen today.
Su Xian was called to his mother's side as soon as he came back from outside. He had the same confusion as the old Duke. Apart from noticing that his wife's eyes were a little swollen and her expression was a little strange, he knew nothing else.
After the meal, the old lady sent the servants away and then explained the reason why she invited the father and son over.
The father and son were greatly shocked, especially Su Xian, who could not sit still. After pacing back and forth in the room for several times, he finally squeezed out a sentence: "How, how is this possible?"
"Yes, hasn't Jinping returned? How come another one suddenly appeared out of nowhere? I'm afraid he's a liar?" The old duke stroked his beard and said.
"Have you grown a brain? Qingyun found this out himself. No one came to him on their own initiative. Why would he lie to you?" said the old lady.
Sheng Qingyun's eyes were red again: "That child is still in the dark and is working as a maid in Dingyuan Marquis's mansion!"
Su Xian still couldn't accept it, and murmured, "How is it possible? I went to pick up Jinping in person, and asked about the whole story. Even the birthmark on her neck was verified repeatedly. After returning, you also asked and verified it separately. After confirming that it was correct, you officially held a welcoming party for her, right?"
"That's true, but the problem now is that we did make a mistake. Are we just going to let this mistake continue and prevent our real flesh and blood from returning home?" Sheng Qingyun said.
The room fell into deathly silence.
The old Duke lowered his head as if in deep thought. Su Xian sat back in his chair with his eyelids drooping and a serious look on his face. The old lady still sat there as calmly as before.
"What do you mean, you don't want to answer it?" Sheng Qingyun suddenly became anxious and stood up and said, "The facts are in front of us, why don't you answer it? If you don't answer it, I will answer it myself!"
"It's not that we won't accept the marriage, the question is how to accept the marriage?" Su Xian frowned and said, "If we accept the marriage, what will happen to Jinping now? What about the Empress? After the morning court session today, the Emperor specially asked me to stay and talk to him. He said that he was very satisfied with the marriage and would ask for the name of the bride in two days. At this critical moment, how do you say we should accept the marriage?"
"What? The emperor has spoken?" Sheng Qingyun slumped back into his chair, his head buzzing, his face pale as he asked, "Does this mean my daughter will just have to wander around out there?"
"Of course we can't let the flesh and blood of the Su family wander around outside." The old lady, who had been silent for a long time, said, "After thinking it over, I think there is only one way. Find an opportunity to go to Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion and ask for the child. Say that you like her very much and want to adopt her as your adopted daughter to keep Jinping company..."
"Adopted daughter?" Sheng Qingyun interrupted her mother-in-law rudely, "She is my biological daughter. My blood flows in her body. How can I let her be my adopted daughter? She has suffered too much. This is too unfair to her!"
The old lady was quite dissatisfied with her impoliteness and said in a deep voice: "Whether it is right or not, we should know it by ourselves. When Jinping gets married, she will be the only one left in the family. We should love her as much as possible. What's the difference between her and our own child?"
"But… "
"Don't say buts. Hengxian has no other choice but this. Either don't accept the marriage, or accept it as his adopted daughter. There is no other solution!" The old lady made her final decision with a gloomy face.
Sheng Qingyun wanted to say something but was dragged away by her husband.
(End of this chapter)