The people in Kunning Palace secretly searched the entire palace but could not find any trace of Xie Nanjia. Later, someone who went outside the palace to gather information came back to report that the person had returned to Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, but no one knew how he returned.
This is really a freak thing! Queen Meng was so angry that she threw things all over the place and ordered Wang Lu to find out the truth before dawn, otherwise he would lose his head when the sun rose.
Wang Lu was frightened to death and sent out all his men to search for Su Jincheng. Finally, he found out that Su Jincheng had taken a young guard who was unfamiliar to him out of the palace through Donghua Gate, and then entered the palace alone through Xuanwu Gate. The young guard disappeared.
An hour or two later, rumors began to spread that the second son of Marquis Dingyuan was riding a horse with a handsome guard and parading through the city.
Combining the two, it is obvious that Su Jincheng helped the little girl escape the search in the palace, and then sent her out of the palace disguised as a guard, and was brought back to the Marquis' Mansion by the second son of Zhao.
Wang Lu sorted out the clues and hurried to report to Queen Meng.
Queen Meng thought that she had been tricked by Su Jincheng, Zhao Jingyu and that maid, and she became furious and ordered Wang Lu to bring these three people to Kunning Palace the next day.
However, the next morning, just as she got up, Wang Lu came running to her in a panic and told her the bad news. He said that the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion suddenly took the girl away from the Marquis' Mansion early in the morning, and claimed that the previous rumors were pure rumors. But because the girl's background and appearance were similar to those of Princess Jinping, they simply took advantage of the situation and accepted her as the Duke's adopted daughter, and let her go to the Duke's Mansion and keep Princess Jinping company.
"Now the news is spreading everywhere. People who are well-informed have already gone to the Duke's Mansion to congratulate him. Everyone says this is a beautiful story of a relationship that was made by mistake..."
"What kind of beauty are you talking about? It's obvious that you don't take me seriously!" Queen Meng interrupted Wang Lu angrily before he could finish his words. She slammed the table and gritted her teeth, "What a good Duke Zhenguo and Marquis Dingyuan. They actually teamed up to disgust me. They are so arrogant. It's really hateful!"
Once the Queen gets angry, it is not easy to put it out. Wang Lu was trembling with fear beside her, not daring to say a word, for fear that the anger would spread to him.
"Mother!" A voice shouted from outside, and the next moment His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rushed into the palace with a gust of cold air.
Wang Lu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down to greet the prince.
Song Jingxing didn't even bother to look at him any more. He waved his hand randomly and told him to stand up. He quickly walked to Queen Meng and said anxiously, "Mother, I heard that the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion took that girl away..."
Queen Meng was furious. Upon hearing this, she glared at him fiercely and scolded him, "Didn't I tell you to stay in the East Palace? Who allowed you to come out?"
Song Jingxing was startled, and hurriedly knelt down, greeted his mother, and explained: "Your Majesty, you did not restrict my feet. I came to see you because of an urgent matter. I hope you will forgive me."
"She's just a woman, how can that be considered urgent?" Queen Meng raised her eyebrows and said, "Remember, you are the crown prince of a country. For you, apart from the country, nothing else can be called an urgent matter!"
"…" Song Jingxing was scolded, the light in his eyes dimmed instantly, and he said dejectedly, "I understand, thank you for your teachings, mother."
Queen Meng heard that his voice was a little aggrieved and unwilling, so she suppressed her anger and said in a serious tone, "It's not that I don't understand you, but you were born with responsibilities different from others. Romance is not suitable for you. Besides, it's not called romance. It's just wishful thinking. Yesterday, that girl clearly expressed in front of me that she was not interested in you. Why bother wasting your time on her? When you inherit the throne in the future, you can have any beauty you want."
When Song Jingxing heard that Xie Nanjia was not interested in him, he felt as if his heart was pricked by needles. He remembered that at the welcoming banquet at the Duke's Mansion, Xie Nanjia helped Zhao Jingyu take off her cloak, and she and Zhao Jingyu stood opposite each other like a perfect couple, and everyone said how well-matched they were.
Therefore, she was not interested in him because of Zhao Jingyu. She was willing to flirt with a bastard and was unwilling to even look at her own prince.
Song Jingxing's rationality was gradually replaced by anger. Whenever he thought about losing to Zhao Jingyu, he couldn't help but get furious.
He clenched his fists, took his leave from Queen Meng, and strode back to the East Palace.
He couldn't just let it go like this, he had to avenge himself and return all the humiliation Zhao Jingyu had inflicted on him!
…
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Ever since Xie Nanjia was picked up by Su Jincheng himself early in the morning, there has been an endless stream of people coming to congratulate her. Some came to express their sincere congratulations, while others came to watch the fun and inquire about the news.
The old Duke's wife and her four daughters-in-law were in charge of entertaining the guests in the outer room, while Princess Jinping sat with Xie Nanjia in the inner room. Every time a new guest came in, she would personally take Xie Nanjia's hand and come out to greet the guest, and her words showed that she was very fond of her sister Xie Nanjia.
The reason why Xie Nanjia was made the younger sister was because there was no way to distinguish the older and younger of the two in terms of age, so they could only be ranked according to the order in which they entered the mansion.
Most of the guests who came had attended the welcoming banquet and had seen Xie Nanjia before. They had a deep memory of the two slaps she slapped Miss Chen Er. When she came out, Mrs. Wang laughed and joked, "I think my mouth must have been blessed. I said at that time that this girl's style was incomparable to that of ordinary ladies. Now, she has become the daughter of the Duke's Mansion. Oh, she has such a good life. I envy her so much."
After many twists and turns, Sheng Qingyun finally got his daughter back. Although she was still an "adopted daughter", he felt much better and was in the mood to joke. He pointed at Madam Wang and said, "Since you are so envious, why don't you come and be my daughter? I will definitely treat you like the apple of my eye."
The whole room burst into laughter, but Mrs. Wang remained calm and said, "I just don't know if the old lady would like to have a granddaughter with wrinkles all over her face."
The old lady laughed so hard that she covered her chest and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "I don't mind the wrinkles, but my face is too thick and it will take a lot of rouge. I'm afraid my family can't afford it."
Everyone burst into laughter again.
The adults were joking and the younger generation had no right to interrupt, so Princess Jinping took Xie Nanjia back to the inner room.
"Originally, I was the only girl in the mansion, and I was very bored all day long. Now that you are here, I am really happy." She gently pushed Xie Nanjia to sit on the chair and poured tea for her herself. She was as enthusiastic as a hospitable host, and she had completely forgotten the unpleasantness that happened between her and Xie Nanjia at Jinxiufang.
Xie Nanjia thanked her, took the tea and said with a smile: "Sister, you are too polite. I am new here, please take care of me."
"You don't need to tell me that. I am your elder sister, so I will naturally take care of you." Princess Jinping said, "You may not know this, but we have a large group of brothers. They will all like you and take care of you."
Xie Nanjia felt this deeply. When her cousin Su Jinping was not yet born, every time she came to visit relatives at the Duke's Mansion, she would be surrounded by a group of cousins who showed their courtesy. Unfortunately, as soon as her cousin was born, their targets immediately shifted, just like unfaithful men who abandoned their wives after having fun with them.
Thinking of this, Xie Nanjia couldn't help but laugh.
Princess Jinping, who was standing nearby, saw that her casual smile was full of indescribable charm and she secretly clenched her fists.
Damn girl, she was so lucky. Two people stabbed the sedan chair but didn't kill her. Instead, she turned a disaster into a blessing and was quickly taken back to the Duke's Mansion. Her luck was really against the sky.
When she thought about living under the same roof with her from now on, she felt indescribable disgust and irritation. Fortunately, except for the old Duke and his wife and the young Duke and his wife, no one else knew the truth, so she could continue to enjoy the treatment of a legitimate daughter and would not be neglected.
But even so, she still felt an invisible threat, fearing that one day the truth would come out and her identity, favor and even position as Crown Princess would be taken away. Therefore, she still had to find a way to get rid of this stumbling block to prevent future troubles.
As it was getting close to noon, the visitors said goodbye and left one after another, and the exhausted mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were finally able to take a break.
Sheng Qingyun asked her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to have lunch in her courtyard. Before the food was served, she called Xie Nanjia and Princess Jinping out to talk.
In fact, until now, the sisters-in-law are still confused. The welcoming banquet for the child who was found earlier has been held, and Sheng Qingyun suddenly said that the one from the Marquis' Mansion is the real one. The rumor has spread throughout the city, and she said that she was wrong, and the first one is the real one. This goes on and on, not to mention outsiders who find it difficult to tell the truth from the false, even they, the family members, can't tell which one is the real one.
Another thing is that the sisters-in-law were also puzzled by Sheng Qingyun's rash act of adopting a daughter. Although the Duke's Mansion was short of girls, Jinping had already returned. Was it necessary to adopt another daughter
He said he was afraid that Jinping would be lonely. How could she be lonely when so many brothers surrounded her like the moon surrounded by stars? After two years, she would marry into the Eastern Palace and seldom come back to her parents' home. This adopted daughter would also have to be married off with a dowry. Isn't that just giving money away for nothing? I really don't know what he was thinking.
However, no matter how much they disagreed, Sheng Qingyun was still the one who had the final say at home. They had to keep their opinions to themselves and show their love to their adopted daughters in a friendly manner.
Although the old lady knew the truth, she was not very close to Xie Nanjia. She even felt a little distant from him. She put the overall situation first and always felt that offending the Queen Mother because of Xie Nanjia would be very disadvantageous to the Duke's Mansion. Therefore, she was a little resistant to Xie Nanjia emotionally.
Also, because Princess Jinping was going to marry into the Eastern Palace in the future, they hoped that she could help the Duke's Mansion ease the relationship with the Empress Dowager, so even though they knew that Princess Jinping was a fake, they still loved her very much.
However, Xie Nanjia didn't care about these people's attitudes. After lunch, she couldn't wait to beg Sheng Qingyun to take her to meet Xiu'er Niang and Song Ce.
Seeing that she was worried about her adoptive mother, Sheng Qingyun couldn't help feeling jealous and blamed her for caring so much about a villain who stole the child.
Xie Nanjia said, "She is not a treacherous person. She was just ignorant and deceived by her husband. She was afraid of implicated her entire family, so she did not dare to turn herself in. She raised me with great difficulty and devoted herself to me over the years. She treated me like her own child. I have depended on her for twelve years. I cannot hate her, and I cannot bear to see her punished for this. Please forgive me, mother."
Sheng Qingyun loved his daughter so much that he couldn't bear to blame her, so he had to take her to see her adoptive mother.
Xiu'er Niang and Song Ce still live in that room. After a few days of rest, their injuries have healed, but without Sheng Qingyun's permission, they cannot go anywhere and are trapped in the room every day.
Xie Nanjia pushed the door open and saw Xiu'er's mother sitting on the edge of the bed. He felt his nose sore and called out "Mom".
When Xiu'er's mother saw her, she felt like she was dreaming. She stared in amazement for a long time before she stood up, covering her mouth and running towards Xie Nanjia.
"Xiu'er!" She cried and hugged Xie Nanjia, "Mother thought she would never see you again..."
"Hmm!" Sheng Qingyun cleared his throat vigorously beside him.
Xiu'er's mother reacted suddenly, stopped two steps away from Xie Nanjia, spread her arms awkwardly, and burst into tears.
The rich young lady in front of her, dressed in gorgeous clothes, is no longer her sleeve.
She is a sinner.
"Mom!" Xie Nanjia called her again and took the initiative to hug her, "Mom, you have suffered."
Xiu'er's mother collapsed instantly and burst into tears in her arms.
"Xiu'er, mother deserves to die. Mother is a sinner. Mother is sorry for you..." She cried, "It would be worth dying if mother could see you again and hear you call me mother."
"Mom, what are you talking about? Don't let your imagination run wild. You and Uncle Song just got married, and there's still a lot of time to go on together!" Xie Nanjia consoled her softly, "Don't worry, I've already talked to my parents. They won't hold you accountable, and they won't do anything to you."
"Really?" Xiu'er's mother and Song Ce asked at the same time, looking at Sheng Qingyun in disbelief.
Sheng Qingyun had a stern face and snorted coldly: "The Duke and I let you go because we were afraid that Xiu'er would be caught in the middle, otherwise we would definitely send you to the authorities for severe punishment."
Xiu'er's mother knelt down and kowtowed to her, making loud bangs: "Thank you, Lord Duke and Lady Duke, for not killing me. I will work like a slave in my next life to repay you!"
"Forget it. My family has no shortage of cattle and horses!" Sheng Qingyun said indifferently.
Xiu'er's mother was filled with shame and felt humiliated.
Sheng Qingyun added: "Although I don't care about your mistakes, I won't let you stay in the mansion to eat and drink for free. Now that your injuries have healed and you have seen the people, you should go back to where you should go!"
Xiu'er's mother looked at Xie Nanjia with infinite nostalgia and couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Yes, I will leave right away, right away..."
Being able to leave safely was already the best outcome. Song Ce was very satisfied. He stepped forward to help Xiu'er's mother up and was about to take her away.
"Uncle Song, don't worry, I have something to say." Xie Nanjia said, "The chief steward of Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion was dismissed for making a mistake, and now that position is still vacant. I discussed with the Marquis before I came here, and I want you to take that position. If you agree, you don't have to go back to Hongou Manor. After leaving the Duke's Mansion, go directly to the Marquis' Mansion to meet the Marquis. As for my mother, let her take care of the young master in Sijin Courtyard. I can also go there to see her when I am free. What do you think?"
(End of this chapter)