The secret guard successfully captured the guard sent by the second wife, but because there were too many people around during the day, they did not dare to bring him back to the house. They knocked the man unconscious and locked him up in a temporary place outside, waiting to bring him in quietly after dark.
Sheng Qingyun was anxious to find out the truth, and without waiting for dark, he decided to go out of the house to conduct the trial in person.
Xie Nanjia wanted to keep an eye on Zheng's movements at all times, so she did not go with her and took Liusu back to Tianxiangju.
There was no movement from Biluo for the time being, so Xie Nanjia lay down on the couch for a nap. As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a lot of chatter outside.
Liusu came in to report that a few young men came to play with her and asked if she wanted to meet them.
Now that everyone was in the yard, it was obviously impossible not to see them, so Xie Nanjia stood up, tidied her clothes, and asked Liusu to invite them in.
After a while, the Su brothers came into the house. Except for a few servants and Su Jinyang who was forced by Zheng to practice calligraphy, the rest all came and surrounded Xie Nanjia, asking for her forgiveness for what happened yesterday.
"Second sister, you are right. We did not fulfill our responsibility as brothers. Not only did we scare you outside, but we also lost face for our Duke's Mansion because of our impoliteness. We have deeply realized our mistakes. Please forgive us this time!"
"Yes, second sister, we are no worse than Zhao Jingyu. We are just first-time brothers and have no experience, so we want to pamper you and big sister desperately, thinking that this is good for you. Now we know we are wrong. Can you please stop disliking us for this?"
"Yes, yes, we will definitely change our ways."
"Second sister, please give us another chance!"
"..." Xie Nanjia listened to her brothers admitting their mistakes to her one after another. She found it funny and inexplicably moved.
She originally thought that since she had made her brothers kneel all night as punishment, they would have some resentment in their hearts. However, she did not expect that instead of complaining, they came to apologize to her first. This really surprised her.
She had not thought too much when she said those words yesterday. Her main purpose was to test Princess Jinping. The Su brothers were born into the most prestigious family in Beijing and grew up in a sweet environment. It was actually very outstanding for them to grow up like this. They did not have the bad habits of those officials' children outside who were arrogant and domineering and spent their time in debauchery. They were self-disciplined and kind-hearted. Except for being too protective of their sister, there was nothing wrong with them.
If there is any shortcoming, it is probably that they have not experienced major storms and lack the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. However, this ability will naturally come with the growth of experience. Just like after yesterday's chaos, they will know how to deal with it next time.
"Brothers, don't blame yourselves too much. I am the one who should apologize. I was frightened yesterday and said something I shouldn't have said. I'm thankful that you brothers are not angry with me." While apologizing, she warmly invited the Su brothers to sit down and personally made tea for them.
When the Su brothers saw that their sister was not angry, they finally put their minds at ease, and sat around the tea table, happily drinking tea and chatting.
"It was such a pity that I couldn't go to the North City Gate yesterday. I heard that my cousin Nanfeng was so impressive, with a white horse and a silver helmet, and he looked so handsome that all those young girls and wives followed him and screamed. They threw handkerchiefs and sachets at him, and the ground was covered with colorful things when the team passed by."
"Then he has become so popular that I want to join the army."
"I also think that if I become a general and return victorious one day, I will definitely be more popular than him."
"Sister, you haven't met cousin Nanfeng yet, right? After the Little New Year, your aunt will probably take you to visit the general's residence. When the time comes, ask him more about what's going on in the military camp and come back to tell us about it, okay?"
"Okay!" Xie Nanjia agreed with a smile. She couldn't wait to see the changes in her brother.
As they were talking, Biluo came back from outside. Seeing the room full of people, she didn't say much and quietly left. She didn't come back to reply to Xie Nanjia until the Su brothers had drunk a bellyful of tea and left happily.
Xie Nanjia was a little tired of entertaining guests, so she leaned lazily on the couch and asked her, "Is there any movement over there?"
Biluo replied, "The girl who was sent out earlier has returned, but the guards have not. After the girl met the Second Madam, the Second Madam got very angry and is now heading to the Buddhist temple. The Buddhist temple is remote and sparsely populated, so I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn't dare to follow her."
"It's okay. You can guess what she's going to do without me." Xie Nanjia said, "You've worked hard today. Go down and have a rest!"
He went to the Buddhist temple at this time, probably because he knew he had been tricked and was afraid that the guard who had not returned would do something bad. So, just in case, he went to collude with Jinping County Lady in advance.
What's the point of colluding with others? Xie Nanjia smiled indifferently. Qin Shi, who was so difficult to deal with, died in her hands. Why did she still care about these two rabble? As long as she could be sure that Zheng Shi was the one who did the bad things, she had a hundred ways to make Zheng Shi confess.
As for Princess Jinping, there is no need to rush. Even if she pleads guilty, she has to be allowed to hold on for a while until she and Zhao Jingyu are married. Then, her identity as the fake princess can be exposed in one fell swoop. By that time, the matter will be done and it will be of no use for the Queen and the Crown Prince to be angry.
She wanted to see how Queen Meng, who valued the royal family's reputation more than anything else and was even willing to kill her to silence her, would react when the whole world knew that the prince had married a fake.
She won't let anyone who wants to harm her have an easy time, even if it's the queen!
…
At dinner time, Xie Nanjia went to Qionghuayuan. Coincidentally, Su Xian and Su Jincheng also came back, and the family of four sat together for dinner.
Tomorrow is the Little New Year, and the men have to worship the Kitchen God at home. Su Xian and Su Jincheng are the eldest son and grandson of the eldest house respectively, and they are responsible for leading all the male members of the family to worship the Kitchen God. Although the process is the same every year, Sheng Qingyun is still worried and explains in detail all the precautions.
Su Xian agreed to all of them and asked Sheng Qingyun: "It's the New Year's Eve. Should Jinping still be locked up in the Buddhist temple? Wouldn't that be too cruel to her?"
Sheng Qingyun subconsciously glanced at Xie Nanjia, and after dismissing everyone, he said, "This punishment is already lenient enough for her. She was released after just one day. How will she control other children in the future?"
Su Xian sighed: "That child is actually quite good, but she lacks some education. After the New Year, let Aunt Xing spend more time to teach her well."
"It's all your fault. Why didn't you ask more carefully at the beginning?" Sheng Qingyun complained to him.
"Why didn't I ask more carefully?" Su Xian said, "Her adoptive parents said they bought her from someone else when she was three years old. She has all the clothes and shoes she wore when she was a child, as well as the butterfly birthmark. Her eyes are also phoenix eyes. You looked and identified her again and again after you came back. Didn't you also say it was her? Now you've made a mistake and you're here to ask me for the answer."
"You still have the clothes I wore when I was a child?" Xie Nanjia couldn't help but interject. "When I got lost, the soldiers in the whole city were looking for me. The thief must have changed my clothes to avoid the search. My clothes are not made of the same material that ordinary people have. How dare he carry them around with him and keep them until he sold me?"
“…” Both the husband and wife were stunned. Why didn’t they think of such an obvious truth at that time
It was all because I was too anxious to find my child. When I saw the birthmark, I had a preconceived idea that I had found the right person and didn't care about anything else.
Speaking of birthmarks, Sheng Qingyun added, "Other things can be faked, but birthmarks can't be faked, right? Why is it such a coincidence that she also has one?"
"Who said birthmarks can't be faked?" Su Jincheng said leisurely, "Enemy country's spies would even change their faces to hide their identities."
"..." Sheng Qingyun rolled his eyes at him, "Kid, how can ordinary people compare with spies? Spies change their appearances for a purpose. Jinping knows nothing, what purpose could she have? Even if her adoptive parents wanted to deceive your father and get some benefits, it is not something that can be faked on the same day. Could they have predicted that your father would go looking for someone a few years ago? Even if they did predict it, they would have to agree with Jinping. How could she not know that there is such a big birthmark on her body? You can't say that she and her adoptive parents are in cahoots..."
As she was talking, she couldn't continue. She stared at her husband, son and daughter in horror with wide eyes, something in her heart was about to burst out.
Su Xian was also shocked. He stared at her for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "Impossible, impossible, Jinping wouldn't do that..."
"Maybe? You should listen to what I say about today before you make a conclusion!" Sheng Qingyun suppressed his excitement and told him everything that happened today in detail.
After hearing this, Su Xian was completely stunned.
"How is that possible? My second sister-in-law is definitely not that kind of person." He would rather die than believe it. "After the child was lost, my second sister-in-law was sadder than anyone else. She accompanied you day and night. In order to find the child, she mobilized all the relatives from her mother's side. You can't doubt anyone else but her!"
"Then tell me, why did she send a maid to keep the appointment after receiving the letter, and why did she send guards to kill people to silence them?" Sheng Qingyun said.
Su Xian was speechless.
"What's there to guess? Just call Jinping and ask him and you'll know." Su Jincheng said in a deep voice, he stood up and went to the Buddhist temple to find County Lady Jinping.
(End of this chapter)