Everyone stretched their necks, waiting to see the show.
The old doctor came forward, examined Xie Nanjia, and finally made a conclusion: "No sign of pregnancy!"
Xiu'er's mother burst into tears, went forward and tore Li apart, wanting to drag her to see the official and hold her accountable for defamation.
The laws of the Zhou Dynasty were strict, and the crime of defamation was punishable by cutting off the tongue.
Li hastily argued: "It was your daughter who asked the child as soon as she woke up. Who among the villagers would not think so? Can you blame me?"
Xie Nanjia had no intention of getting entangled in this matter, and slowly said: "I was seriously injured and unconscious, and I was just talking nonsense. You insulted my innocence, I won't bother with you, give me ten taels of silver, and we can go our separate ways!"
Li was heartbroken and wanted to argue again, but Hu Sanmu kicked her in annoyance, took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and threw them at Xie Nanjia's feet, then asked the waiter to carry his son's body away.
The onlookers were afraid that Xiu'er Niang would pursue the matter, so they all dispersed.
Xiu'er's mother hugged Xie Nanjia and burst into tears: "Xiu'er, it's all your fault that I'm useless and let you suffer such humiliation."
Xie Nanjia subconsciously dodged, held her shoulders and said, "Auntie, don't cry, pick up the silver first!"
Xiu'er's mother was startled by her shouting and asked worriedly, "Xiu'er, did you really get your head smashed? Why do you always call me Auntie?"
Xie Nanjia said, "I'm very tired. Pick up the silver first and we'll go back to the house and talk."
Xiu'er's mother picked up the silver with a worried look on her face, rinsed off the mud in the puddle nearby, helped Xie Nanjia back to the house, and helped her sit on the bed.
"Just sit down first. Mom will boil some water for you to wash up. You will be fine after a good sleep."
"Auntie, please don't be in a hurry. I have something to say." Xie Nanjia called her calmly, intending to tell her the truth about his identity.
She was not the real Xiu'er, but was reborn using the body with the same nickname as her. The reason why she shamelessly extorted ten taels of silver from Hu Sanmu was that she wanted to use the silver as travel expenses to return to Beijing.
She wanted to go back to the mansion to find the murderer who killed her. She didn't know whether her poor child was a boy or a girl, alive or dead...
When Xiu'er's mother heard Xie Nanjia calling her "Auntie" for the third time, she was worried and scared. She hugged Xie Nanjia and burst into tears: "Xiu'er, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me. You lost your father when you were young, and I raised you with great difficulty. If something happens to you, how can I live..."
"..." Xie Nanjia swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
Xiu'er's mother's crying reminded her of her mother. At this moment, her mother must be crying her heart out in front of her corpse.
And what is the current situation of the child she has been carrying for ten months
Xie Nanjia was overwhelmed with grief and hugged Xiu'er's mother and burst into tears.
Due to her severe injuries and excessive grief, Xie Nanjia eventually cried herself to death. After waking up, she started calling Xiu'er's mother "mother" and never mentioned her identity again.
With sympathy for all parents, she could not bear to let this poor woman endure the pain of losing her daughter, so she had to find another excuse to return to Beijing.
Seeing that her daughter had finally returned to normal, Xiu'er's mother was relieved and started preparing delicious food for her.
For a poor family, the so-called delicious food was just some wild vegetables picked from the back mountain. They beat the only two eggs they had and used them to make two pancakes.
Xie Nanjia had never eaten such rough food in her life. Her throat was already sore, and swallowing the wild vegetables felt like sand scratching her throat. The pain was so severe that she wanted to throw the cake away several times.
But she didn't do so, because Xiu'er's mother kept asking her with a smile if the food tasted good, but she herself was reluctant to eat a single bite.
"It's delicious." Xie Nanjia nodded and swallowed a bite of cake with difficulty.
Xiu'er Niang immediately pushed the noodle soup over to her and said, "Drink the soup smoothly, don't choke."
Xie Nanjia took a sip and remembered that Hualou used to describe something as unpalatable by saying it tasted like pot water.
She had never understood what the water used to wash the pot tasted like. Now, after drinking the noodle soup, she thought, this should be the taste of the water used to wash the pot.
But she no longer cared. She could eat coarse food or drink the water used to wash the pot. As long as she could return to the mansion alive to find out about the child and find the murderer to take revenge, she could endure it all.
"Mom, you eat too. I can't eat so much." She handed another cake to Xiu'er's mother.
"If mother doesn't eat, you should eat it. You need to nourish your body." said Xiu'er's mother.
"You have to take care of your body. You have to support the family and take care of me. It's hard work!" said Xie Nanjia.
Xiu'er's mother rubbed her head with satisfaction: "Mom's Xiu'er has grown up."
This sentence almost brought tears to Xie Nanjia's eyes. When she was a child, her mother often rubbed her head and said, "My sleeves have grown up."
Later, she really grew up, and was married by the emperor to Zhao Jingping, the son of Marquis Dingyuan. When her mother heard the news, she burst into tears and said, "My Xiu'er is not yet grown up, how can she get married?"
The nickname Xiu'er came from the fact that she liked to hold her mother's sleeves since she was born.
Her mother regarded her as a treasure and was reluctant to let her get married.
She herself was extremely unhappy about this marriage. Although the Marquis's Mansion was extremely wealthy, the romantic and amorous prince was not a good match for her.
However, the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, and even though his father was the General Wu'an, he had to give up his love with reluctance.
After the marriage, Zhao Jingping did as she expected. He did not restrain his romantic nature just because he married her, a talented and beautiful woman in the capital. Not only did he flirt with other women outside, he also had an affair with his cousin and even gave the famous orchids that she had carefully cultivated to please his cousin.
She married a playboy and could not divorce because the marriage was arranged by the emperor. Even committing suicide was considered disrespectful to the emperor. She was disheartened and spent every day in the marquis' mansion like a year.
Later, it was the nanny who persuaded her that most men in the world were unreliable, so it would be better to have a child and raise him. This would make life less miserable, and would also give her someone to rely on when she was old.
She followed the nanny's advice and slept with Zhao Jingping several times against her will. She got pregnant as she wished. She watched the baby grow bigger in her belly day by day. Every fetal movement made her extremely happy. She finally had hope for the future. However, she never expected that she would eventually die on the delivery bed.
*****
At night, because Xiu'er's bedroom collapsed, the mother and daughter had to squeeze into one bed.
Xie Nanjia told Xiu'er's mother that after the water receded, she could use the ten taels of silver given by Hu Sanmu to repair the house.
Xiu'er Niang suddenly remembered something and said in a brisk tone, "I forgot to tell you that when I went to the back mountain to collect wild vegetables, I heard that the Marquis' Mansion would send someone to check the disaster situation. They will help us repair the house when the time comes, and we don't have to pay for it ourselves."
Xie Nanjia sat up suddenly: "Someone is coming to the Marquis' Mansion. Who is coming?"
"I don't know about that." Xiu'er's mother said, "You kid, you are so startled in the middle of the night, lie down quickly."
Xie Nanjia slowly lay back on the bed, his heart in turmoil.
If someone came from the Marquis' Mansion, could she take the opportunity to find out about herself and her child
Can you find a way to follow the person back to the capital
The most important thing is, who will the Marquis’ Mansion send over
(End of this chapter)