Chapter 143 - 142: Reunion with an Old Acquaintance (First Update)

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Reunion with an Old Acquaintance (First Update)

"Who, who is related to that woman’s death? Everyone in the Capital City knows how she died!"

Chen Xi immediately reacted like a cat whose tail was stepped on, with a complex expression of fear and disgust on her face.

Beside her, Shen Zhiyi quickly added, "Yes, you... who are you? You better not talk nonsense!"

The other women looked at Xu Jing, somewhat dazed by her words and her presence.

Young Madam Zhao was the first to react. She gave Xu Jing a deep look, then glared at Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi with intense hatred in her eyes, "The people least qualified to talk about Zhen in this world are you, Chen Xi, and your lackey!"

After saying this, she turned to Xu Jing and introduced to Liu Fuyue and Guo Liuyun beside her, "This is Doctor Xu, who has been treating me recently; Doctor Xu’s medical skills are excellent. I brought her here this time to..."

As she spoke, she paused, seemingly remembering why she brought Xu Jing, her face suddenly darkened, "How did you get here? I heard from Little Tao that Mrs. Yu is critically ill and wished to see me before her death and ask me some questions, so without much thought, I got on Little Tao’s carriage."

Little Tao was a maidservant beside Mrs. Yu.

Little Tao said she had to inform others, so she didn’t come with them.

Liu Fuyue and Guo Liuyun exchanged a look, with Liu Fuyue speaking, "Given the situation, we can’t hide it from you anymore. Recently, Liuyun and I have been preparing a birthday gift for An. I made a little jacket, and Liuyun made a matching hat and shoes. Because my jacket wasn’t quite finished, Liuyun came to my place to assist me today. After we finished, we set off together to the Song Mansion, which was why we left later than others.""

While the carriage was halfway, Peony, a maidservant of Mrs. Yu, suddenly stopped us and told us that Mrs. Yu is critically ill and wished to see us. We were shocked and planned to go to the Song Mansion to discuss the matter with you first, and then visit Mrs. Yu together. However, while Peony was talking to me, several guards who accompanied her suddenly came forward and knocked us out.""

When they woke up, they found themselves here.

Young Madam Zhao’s face grew even darker.

With her keen instincts, she naturally sensed something was very wrong with the current situation.

Xu Jing glanced at Liu Fuyue and asked, "Did you have any guards with you at the time?"

Liu Fuyue paused slightly, nodded, and said, "Of course we did, but since Liuyun and I left late, the majority of the entourage had already gone to the Song Mansion, leaving Liuyun and me with only four guards."

Xu Jing nodded, then turned to the side where Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi looked livid, and asked, "What about you two? Were you also tricked into coming here?"

Because Xu Jing asked the question so naturally, Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi didn’t immediately realize something was off with her asking it. Chen Xi’s face darkened at the thought of something, and she said, "No one told me about Mrs. Yu. I was attending a banquet at the Song Mansion and had merely gone to the washroom when I was drugged and brought here!"

As for Shen Zhiyi, she was merely the daughter of a fifth-rank official in the Western Capital and wasn’t even qualified to attend a banquet at the Song Mansion.

According to her, she was knocked out and brought here when she wasn’t paying attention while going out.

Now, everyone realized they had been abducted and brought here, filling the room with a tense and fearful silence.

Guo Liuyun, whose courage was slightly smaller, couldn’t help but start to cry, "How could this happen! The person who kidnapped us is really audacious! Doesn’t he know our identities? Even if he doesn’t care about our families, Shaohua is not someone he can touch! Once the Zhao Family and Song Family find out Shaohua is missing, they’ll certainly deploy people all over the city to search, and finding this place is just a matter of time!"

From the discussion among them just now, Zhao Shao Hua is undoubtedly the most prominent among them. Even if Chen Xi and Shen Zhiyi clearly disliked Zhao Shao Hua, they dared not speak disrespectfully to her.

At this time, Xu Jing calmly said, "It seems we’re not the only ones brought here; I saw someone in the bedroom."

The few people, now like frightened birds, immediately turned around fearfully and looked towards the bedroom separated by a beaded curtain.

At this moment, a soft voice came from the bedroom, "Who are you all? Where is this place?"

From the voice, it seemed the person inside had just woken up.

Zhao Shao Hua, who was slightly braver, walked straight forward and lifted the beaded curtain. Upon seeing the person inside, she was slightly taken aback, "Young Madam Xu, you’ve been taken too? Anyway, come out and talk."

In the noblewomen’s circles of the Western Capital, few do not recognize Zhao Shao Hua, so what Zhao Shao Hua said carried a certain weight.

Soon, the person inside the bedroom came out. Upon seeing the brightly dressed woman in the light blue chest-length ru skirt, Xu Jing’s heart skipped a beat, and a bitter smile appeared beneath her veil.

Truly, enemies on a narrow path.

When she heard Zhao Shao Hua call the woman inside "Young Madam Xu," Xu Jing had a bad feeling.

Now, her premonition came true—the Young Madam Xu turned out to be the original body’s elder sister, Xu Ya, who is the daughter of Mrs. Wen, the woman who rose to prominence after the original body’s mother passed away.

Ironically, she was born a year earlier than the original body.

According to the laws of Great Chu, it is generally not permissible to elevate a concubine to the status of wife, but there are some exceptions. For instance, if a man’s wife has not given him a son, and the first son is born by a concubine, and the concubine comes from a decent background, then the man could promote the concubine to wife after his original wife passes away.

Strictly speaking, this is ultimately an operation that does not conform to the ethical laws. Some low-ranking officials or merchants in Great Chu might do this, but noble families who value etiquette strictly forbid it.

So, why is it said that the woman was truly beloved by the original body’s father? Mrs. Wen’s family background was actually decent. The Wen Family in Bianzhou is also known for their scholarly heritage. Mrs. Wen and the original body’s father were childhood sweethearts. However, the original body’s father had ambitions; he knew well that as an illegitimate son, no matter how talented he was, the family would never fully support him, which is why he set his sights on the wealthiest merchant family in Bianzhou—the Xu Family.

Mrs. Wen endured bitterly to fulfill the original body’s father’s ambitions, willingly becoming a concubine. When the original father needed the Xu Family’s financial resources, she lay low and compromised at home until the original father gained a firm footing in officialdom, only then revealing her true colors.

Her son, who is also the original body’s father’s first son, was born after the father had maximized his gains from the Xu Family.

If Xu Ya had not been conceived before the original body’s mother married the original body’s father, Mrs. Wen would likely have continued to endure without children until the day she could hold her head high.

Back then, Mrs. Wen humbled herself before the original body’s mother and the original body, dragging Xu Ya along with her, never raising her head. For Xu Ya, who was always proud and competitive, this was the most humiliating period of her life.

So, after the original body’s mother died, she became one of those who hated the original body the most in the family.

Xu Jingjing quietly watched that beautiful yet gentle and pitiful woman not far away.

She remembered that the original was called back to the Western Capital urgently after coming of age, precisely to take over a marriage proposal that Xu Ya didn’t want.

At that time, Wu Youbing, the third son of the legitimate line of the Marquis Wu’an’s Mansion, came to the Xu Family to propose marriage. The original body’s father didn’t want to miss the opportunity to connect with the Marquis Wu’an’s Mansion. Xu Ya refused to marry no matter what, prompting him to remember the long-neglected original body.

Although the marriage between the original and Wu Sanlang didn’t happen later, Xu Ya still didn’t marry Wu Sanlang.

Because by then, she had already climbed onto a higher branch—the ninth son of the legitimate line of the Wang Family, Wang Yandong.