Chapter 241 – The legendary illegitimate child (2)
She had once expected that this day would come, but she hadn’t thought the emperor’s decree would still count after so much time had passed. She had already given birth to a son. Why did she still have to remain servant? He was her son. Why should he be given to Nie Sangyu to raise? Only the gods knew if this villainous woman would mistreat her son or not.
However, after Tanxiang tugged on her sleeve, Wen Wan returned to her senses.
She had been demoted and also sent to the other estate once. This was because she had been too impulsive. It was time for her to learn how to moderate her actions based on the situation. She had to endure. In this household, Nie Sangyu was the main wife.
“This one is just a lowly servant and doesn’t have the right to speak. Everything should be decided by Old Madame.” Wen Wan swallowed her anger and furtively cried as she stood by Marquis Moyu’s side.
Her tears landed on the back of Ning Yuxuan’s hand. He turned his head to the side, silently looked at her, and held her hand in his.
Wen Wen cried harder, but she didn’t make a sound. Her tears were like a strand of cascading pearls where the string had broken.
It truly was extremely painful to be separated from your child. Ji Man took the baby from Old Madame and inwardly laughed.
When Wen Wan was being separated from her child, there was someone to hold her hand and comfort her. What about herself? She had to struggle by herself for a few months to escape from that shadow. But, when she went to sleep, she still kept dreaming about her lost child.
However, no one ever mentioned her child. Old Madame had said that she sent people to look for her child. Marquis Moyu had said the same words too. And yet, even though baby after baby had been born in this household, her child still hadn’t been found.
Muxu’s son’s childhood nickname was Fu-er. Old Madame named Wen Wan’s son Xi-er. As for Liu Hanyun’s daughter, she gave her the nickname Yun-er.
(T/N: Xi can means sunlight, sunshine, early dawn. This specific yun character is used to describe the smooth, hard skin of bamboo. It’s not the same yun character that’s in Liu Hanyun’s name.)
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Now that Xi-er had been given her to take care of, Feiwan Courtyard became livelier. Every night, Ji Man would be awakened by his cries. Then, the wet nurse would come and feed him milk. Ji Man would stand by the wet nurse and sing him lullabies with dark circles under her eyes. After Xi-er came, Ji Man felt that her mood had become much better. It was probably because she had lost her own child, but hadn’t been able to grieve.
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Wen Wan could be considered as having regained her freedom. Right now, she was impatiently working on regaining the figure she had before pregnancy, then she would be able to cultivate deep feelings with Marquis Moyu once again.
Whenever Ji Man asked Dengxin where the marquis was, Dengxin had answered several times in a row that he had taken Wen Wan out of the residence to have fun.
As these two visited idyllic mountains and lakes, Wen Wan and Marquis Moyu’s feelings seem to heat up quite quickly.
Taking advantage of this time, Ji Man paid a visit to Ning Mingjie’s home.
After there was news in the imperial court that Ning Mingjie would be going off to battle next year, people had tried to climb up socially by establishing a connection with him. But, Ning Mingjie seemed to be in a bad mood since Gancao’s death. Visitors would be given a polite thank you while being declined entrance into the residence.
However, when Ji Man went to visit him, he personally came to the entrance and opened the gate to welcome her inside.
Looking at his beautiful face that could topple a country, Ji Man thought it had greatly changed over time. Whenever she saw him, she always felt a pang of sorrow. She couldn’t stop herself from remembering that time when Gancao had shyly stood next to him with a blushing face.
“There’s something that I want to give Young Master.” Ji Man steadied her emotions, took out the autopsy report as well as some of the depositions from Xuesong Courtyard’s previous servants from her sleeve, and handed them to him. “Sangyu also wants to ask Young Master for a favor.”
She hadn’t been able to find conclusive evidence for Gancao’s case. After all, she wasn’t Sherlock Holmes. Although she could be considered an expert at guessing the hidden intentions of women, she still needed to rely on a professional to solve this case.
Ning Mingjie was the most suitable person.
After carefully reading over the documents, Ning Mingjie pursed his lips and said, “This one will have to bother you with a visit tomorrow.”
“Thank you for taking the trouble, Young Master.” Ji Man saluted him, then she covered her head back up with the cloak’s hood and left.
Ning Mingjie continued standing in the opened entrance until her figure had disappeared. The weather had already felt chilly enough today.
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Everyone in the marquis’s household had thought that Wen Wan had regained the marquis’s favor and were extremely envious of her. However, on the fifth day he took her out, when they returned from their outing, he had also brought back another woman.
This woman was very ordinary-looking, but she did somewhat resemble Nie Sangyu. She was also holding a baby in her arms.
Standing next to him, Wen Wan’s eyes were red. Without saying a word, she directly went back to Qiangwei Courtyard by herself.
Ji Man thought this was the same as slapping Wen Wan. Not only had he brought back another woman, this woman had a child.
Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu and seriously said, “This is Xia-shi. She’s a woman that I had a fated encounter with during the Southern Trip. She ended up pregnant with my child after we shared a night together. In the end, he’s my son and shouldn’t be left outside. So, I brought him back.”
Ji Man’s lips twitched. Bringing back an illegitimate child, did this great lord think he was Qianlong Emperor that had visited Jiangnan?
(T/N: In the famous drama, Return of the Pearl Princess, Qianlong Emperor had an illegitimate child with a woman named Xia Yuhe.)
Ji Man dryly laughed and asked, “Miss Xia, is your first name Yuhe?”
Xia-shi looked at her oddly, then pursed her lips and said, “This servant is called Lianxin. Madam, who is Yuhe?”
Ji Man waved her hand. “Never mind then. That’s not important. Since the marquis brought you back, I’ll bring you to see Old Madame later.”
Ning Yuxuan looked at her. “Don’t you want to look at the baby?”
What was the point in looking at a baby? Lately, she was almost getting tired of looking at them. Ji Man twitched her lips, but in the end, she still approached Xia-shi and looked at the baby in her arms.
This baby was much bigger than Xi-er. He didn’t cry or fuss. He just curiously looked at her with his limpid, black eyes.
Somewhere in her heart, a piece suddenly softened.
Translator Ramblings: I would feel bad for Wen Wan, but since she was totally okay with switching her real child with Liu Hanyun’s, I really doubt the sincerity of her tears.
Anyways, Ji Man is finally reunited with her baby! If you want to know when Ji Man will know that this baby is actually her son, I included the spoiler in the comments below.
And, even though Ning Yuxuan seems like he’s falling love with Wen Wan again (at least for part of this chapter), Ji Man/Nie Sangyu has been getting the final say in everything important in the household.
Also, I wonder if Ning Mingjie is really feeling sad because of Gancao’s death? Or, is that just Ji Man’s false impression because she’s projecting her own feelings? Even though he was willing to take Gancao as his concubine, he barely knew her.
“Looking at his beautiful face that could topple a country, Ji Man thought it had greatly changed over time.” Has his appearance actually changed, or is it just the way that Ji Man looks at him has changed?