Chapter 1128 - Chapter 1128 The Last Person Her Father Met Before He Left the Capital
Chapter 1128 The Last Person Her Father Met Before He Left the Capital
“Fifth Miss, I was Infanta Qinghua’s servant girl. I left the capital city with her and went to the border. Also, I escorted her back to the Duke Xing’s Mansion in the end. Later on, I saw the birth of your younger brother. Fifth Miss… I… I…” Speaking of which, E’niang began wailing miserably.
Yujie subconsciously looked toward her master. Shao Wanru looked calm, but the corners of her mouth were slightly trembling. Seeing this, Yujie panicked, for she had never seen her master lose control like this.
There was only the sad cry of E’niang in the private room. As Shao Wanru had expected, it was about her parents.
“Why… why did you become my Second Uncle’s mistress later?” Shao Wanru asked after a long pause. Her voice roughened with every word — this matter must have brought a huge impact on her.
“As Infanta Qinghua’s servant girl, I belonged to the first branch. Ever since I came back with her, I had been serving her. Afterward, my master passed away. I wanted to follow her son and serve him, but Madam Jiang couldn’t tolerate me and wanted to kill me. His Grace protected me and helped me escape from his mansion. After that, I have been following him.”
E’niang sobbed out her experience.
Sometimes, one has to do something despite oneself. Her master had died, and others were suspicious of her. She had no choice but to attach herself to Shao Jing. Thereafter, she began her life as his mistress.
“What’s the matter with this letter?” Shao Wanru asked as her eyes fell on the letter in E’niang’s hand.
“Infanta Qinghua wrote the letter to you!” E’niang held the letter forward and said with tears in her eyes, “Back then, Infanta Qinghua knew she was dying. In a rare lucid moment, she wrote this letter to you. She said if you were found, I would give it to you, but if not… Then, she told me to forget it!”
“A few days after she handed the letter to me, she died. Then, His Grace took me away. I hid this letter so that even His Grace didn’t know about it. As his mistress living outside of the mansion, I seldom visited others. So, I didn’t know the Marquis Xing’s Mansion had recognized and accepted you. Only when I saw you that day, I heard from His Grace that you were found and moved back.”
This time, she acted as if she had been entirely in the dark!
“Then, when I was left outside, why didn’t you tell my grandma about that? You should know General Qin, right?” Shao Wanru didn’t take the letter. Instead, she looked at E’niang coldly and asked, stressing each word.
Whether in her previous life or this life, no one but Shao Jing and the Jiang family knew her existence in the beginning. Others couldn’t possibly know it.
Unexpectedly, the woman before her also knew about it. In this case, how could Shao Wanru believe her?
Even though the woman cried her heart out, she would not buy her words.
There was such a mistress in her previous life, and it should be E’niang. However, the mistress didn’t pass on a single word to her. They had no connection at all. Therefore, Shao Wanru was surprised to learn she had been deeply involved with her.
Shao Wanru heard that her mother had gone mad when she was found. At that point, her mother was out of her mind, but the woman in front of her should be normal. Nevertheless, she didn’t say anything. She kept everything and didn’t tell others that Infanta Qinghua’s daughter was still alive.
“Yes, I know him. But at that time, your mother didn’t allow me to say it. She appeared a little crazy, but she became perfectly sane occasionally. To guarantee your safety, she told me not to say anything about you. At that time, Old Madam had a very high opinion of Madam Jiang. When she was normal, she was no match for Madam Jiang, not to mention she was out of her mind. Your mother didn’t allow me to say it and said you should be fine there.”
E’niang kept talking while crying.
“Fifth Miss, I followed your mother’s lead and would do everything as she asked me to. When we left, you and your father were fine. Then, your mother was sober one minute and confused the next. Sometimes, she told me that your father was protecting you. After a while, she said it was not safe for you to come back because she couldn’t keep you safe!”
“Great! Once again, there was nothing she could do about it. How dare she put all the blame on my deceased mother?” Shao Wanru narrowed her eyes, hiding the touch of killing intent in her eyes. Knowing she could no longer conceal her identity, this woman took the initiative to show up. She acted in bad faith and betrayed her master. Beyond that, she began an affair with Shao Jing long ago. Perhaps, she was related to the death of Shao Wanru’s parents.
But it was not the time to fall out with her. After suppressing the intense killing intent in her heart, Shao Wanru asked coldly, “In that condition, why would you choose to be with my Second Uncle? As my mother’s servant girl, you belonged to her and should always do things for her benefit. How could you be my Second Uncle’s mistress? How could a man sleep with the servant girl serving his sister-in-law?”
“Fifth Miss, I had no choice. At that time, I could hardly protect myself. Only Marquis Xing was willing to protect me for the sake of your father. Madam Jiang was cruel and merciless, so I was forced out of the mansion. Since then, I have been living under His Grace’s wing.”
E’niang wailed. Whatever the question Shao Wanru hurled at her, she could explain it away.
In silence, Shao Wanru raised the corners of her mouth but hid her sneer in the next second. E’niang gave her a flawless explanation, but it was too perfect to be true in her eyes.
In the end, such a loyal servant girl had to be Shao Jing’s mistress. Madam Jiang was responsible for all the evils, while E’niang was still a true and faithful servant girl.
Aristocratic families appreciated loyal servants the most. In this case, Shao Wanru should stand on her side and trample on Madam Jiang.
Making this mistress a secondary legal wife of Marquis Xing would be the most humiliating thing for Madam Jiang.
E’niang appeared at the right time. Unlike Madam Jiang, she had a better relationship with Shao Wanru. Moreover, Shao Wanru’s grandma might even promote her for her daughter’s sake. In this way, she could become the secondary legal wife of Marquis Xing. After all, Rui’an Great Elder Princess supported her. If E’niang managed to become her nominal daughter, her status would be instantly raised.
So what if she was a mistress? As long as she had a high enough status, she could surmount all obstacles.
In a twinkle, Shao Wanru had figured out why E’niang appeared here. Shao Wanru had to admit this, no matter how reluctant she felt. E’niang seized the right moment and made an excellent breakthrough point. Shao Wanru might have agreed with her if she hadn’t been reborn.
There were so many helpless choices. She had to accept her fate.
Shao Wanru took the letter from E’niang’s hands, and her hand became so heavy that she could hardly hold the letter. After composing herself, she began reading it carefully.
The letter was time-worn but remained intact. It must have been kept secretly without anyone touching it. But so what? E’niang was watching her mother write it, so she knew perfectly well what was written in the letter. Even worse, she might get her master to write this letter. After all, Infanta Qinghua was muddleheaded at that time.
Her mother must have written this letter in person. However, its content might not be what she wanted to say.
Even though Shao Wanru was very aware of it, she still felt like crying. Her mother was the only daughter of Rui’an Great Elder Princess. No one had expected such a proud lady to end up like this. It was the Marquis Xing’s Mansion that caused her mother’s tragic ending. One day, Shao Wanru would rake up the past and avenge her parents. Only then would her mother and father rest in peace in their graves.
“What’s in this letter?”
“I don’t know. I don’t dare to look at it, nor do I dare to let anyone see it. Infanta Qinghua’s last words are in the letter!” E’niang wiped away her tears and said.
Shao Wanru slowly tore the letter open, and her eyes fell on the words on it. She saw her mother’s grace handwriting, but these characters weren’t arranged neatly together. Sometimes, a few words would get out of the writing lines of characters, making the whole letter look incongruous. Anyway, the letter wasn’t written in a normal way.
The letter’s opening part read, “Zhuozhuo, my dear daughter.” It was indeed written for Shao Wanru.
Shao Wanru’s heart jolted as if something sharp had pierced her heart. This was a letter from a mother to her daughter. In it, Infanta Qinghua told Shao Wanru to eat more and grow up happily. Also, she asked her to live well with her father. One day, she said, the family would be reunited.
At that time, her mother should have known that her father had died, but according to her delirious words, she thought her husband was still alive.
After that, she mentioned her servant girl, E’niang. Shao Wanru was asked to take care of her if she returned to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion when she grew up. Her mother praised E’niang, saying that she was loyal to her master. If not for E’niang’s help along the way, she would not have been able to enter the capital successfully. E’niang was a poor woman who had suffered a lot. She followed her wholeheartedly only to repay her master’s kindness…
In a word, her mother spent most part of the letter talking about her and a small part talking about E’niang. She didn’t say anything about Rui’an Great Elder Princess. As for the other people in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion, she didn’t mention them at all. She even forgot about Shao Wanru’s younger brother, the baby in her belly. It seemed she wrote this letter with a strong sense of purpose.
After reading the letter, Shao Wanru folded it and looked at E’niang again. “I heard my parents went to another place and found someone before they left the capital city. Do you know about this matter?”
E’niang was stunned and replied hurriedly, “I don’t know about this. Your father went there alone, and I stayed with your mother. At first, he didn’t plan to go to the border. Somehow, he decided to go to the border later on. Someone must have said something to him, but I don’t know the specific details since I was just a servant girl.”
“How could you not know about it? At that time, my father took my mother with him.” Shao Wanru asked meaningfully.
“Let me think about it. It’s been so long. I’m old and have forgotten some things!” E’niang wiped the corners of her eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “Someone seemed to have sent a letter in the first place. After seeing it, your father left with your mother. They went to a courtyard and didn’t leave until the evening. But I really don’t know whom your father met or what they talked about!”
Shao Wanru looked E’niang up and down carefully. This matter was no concern of them. It should be true. Someone had asked her father to change his route. Before leaving the capital city, her father went to see someone. Who was this person? Who was the last person his father saw before he left the capital city?
Shao Wanru had a lot of speculations in her heart, but she couldn’t figure out who this person was!
“In that case, do you want to follow me or return to the Marquis Xing’s Mansion in the future?” Shao Wanru’s face softened a little. After pondering for a moment, she put away the letter and asked.
“I… I…” E’niang appeared very hesitant. After wiping her tears, she said, “If I didn’t have a daughter, I would certainly… go with you, but with my daughter…”
Speaking of this, E’niang lost control and cried out loud. Her meaning was apparent. With a daughter, she would undoubtedly live with Shao Jing. It would be best if she could marry into the Marquis Xing’s Mansion!
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