Mrs. Lin had a slight smile at the corner of her mouth, feeling rather proud in her heart. "Perhaps after this battle, when it is over, he will come back. He still needs to come back to see A Ying give birth to her child."
Shen Ruxu's smile froze for a moment, but she still had to maintain a false smile in front of Mrs. Lin. "Mother is right. Sister Gu is also gradually getting bigger this month. In another four or five months the Eldest Prince will also be born. No matter what, the Prince must come back to be with her for the delivery."
Mrs. Lin knew what she was thinking and spoke seriously, “Ruxu, Mother knows you are not convinced. To tell the truth, it is my fault for letting you regard Du as your future husband since you were young, which led you to have feelings you should not have. But now, A Ying is in Du's heart and there is no room for others. You should let him go."
Shen Ruxu gave a bitter laugh. "Don’t worry, Mother. Your daughter...has let go already."
Mrs. Lin looked at her approvingly and laughed. "You are not young anymore. Take advantage that Du is still in Bianjing and in a few days I’ll have him find a match for you and get engaged early. What do you think?"
Shen Ruxu panicked immediately. "Mother, please don't..."
Mrs. Lin frowned. "Why so reluctant? Could it be you still have unrealistic fantasies about Du?"
Shen Ruxu shook her head and hurriedly found an excuse. "It's not that... Daughter just feels it is too rushed. My medicine shop has just opened not long ago and I still have a lot of things to be busy with. Daughter currently has no time to get married and have children... What’s more, hastily meeting suitors does not necessarily mean finding a suitable husband. I just came to Bianjing not long ago and want to get used to life here first and get to know people before making plans. It would not be too late to come up with ideas after the Prince returns safely from the border. Don’t you think so, Mother?"
Mrs. Lin thought about it and agreed that made sense.
If she was not worried that Ruxu still had not given up on Du, she would not have wanted her to marry so quickly in the first place.
Except when it came to matters regarding Du where she was stubborn and unwilling to let go, this child was otherwise good in all other matters.
Now that she had also let go, there was no need to rush her marriage.
So Mrs. Lin agreed.
Shen Ruxu subtly breathed a sigh of relief and escorted Mrs. Lin into the Lingxi Pavilion. Her eyes instantly revealed a trace of fierceness.
This old Mrs. Lin was becoming increasingly biased towards Gu Ying.
Were her more than ten years of mother-daughter affection still inferior to Gu Ying’s recent fawning and flattery?
If she continued standing on Gu Ying’s side, sooner or later there would be a day she would kill this old wretch!
After sending off Mrs. Lin, Shen Ruxu did not stay in the Duke’s residence.
She went inside to fetch her cloak and walked out.
Hai Tang hugged an umbrella and followed. "Miss, it looks like rain. Where are you going? Let this slave accompany you."
Shen Ruxu turned around in the corridor. Her brows were knitted. "What are you following me for?"
Hai Tang smiled foolishly. "This slave is worried about Miss going out alone unsafe. What if you run into bad guys? Although this is under the Son of Heaven’s feet, there are still quite a few cases of things happening to women. Miss should still be more careful. This slave may be clumsy but she is strong and her life is cheap. With this slave by miss’s side, I’ll feel more assured."
Shen Ruxu was originally very annoyed by Hai Tang.
She had always felt that she was sent by Gu Ying to serve her and that they were not of one mind.
It was not until that night when she discovered Hai Tang covering her face crying alone in the room.
She went over to take a look and discovered that she had been slapped.
Only then did she find out that Hai Tang was previously a lowly maid doing menial chores in the back kitchen of the Duke’s residence. Due to her honest and silly nature and clumsiness with words, she had always been bullied.
In addition, her grandmother at home was sick so no matter how bitter her days were at the Duke’s residence she could only endure it.
Shen Ruxu never trusted anyone sent by Gu Ying. Later when she went to visit Hai Tang’s sick grandmother, she finally lowered some of her guard.
She reckoned, how could Gu Ying be so kind as to assign her a good personal maid?
It was only a silly girl like Hai Tang that she would be willing to throw over to her courtyard.
From then on, she had a little more trust in Hai Tang.
Because Hai Tang had said that she wanted to climb up the ranks and earn money to treat her grandmother’s illness.
There were no selfless people that could be trusted. As long as she was ambitious and had weaknesses, then they could walk the same path.
"Give me the umbrella." Shen Ruxu said.
Hai Tang hesitated worriedly. "The Fourth Young Miss from the Eastern Pingbo Residence was just kidnapped by bandits in the capital. Unrest has been happening a lot recently in Bianjing. Miss is really not letting this slave accompany you?"
Seeing Hai Tang's face full of sincerity, Shen Ruxu paused before saying, "Fine then, you can come with me. But don't ask too many questions or tell anyone else about my affairs, understood? Otherwise whether your grandmother lives or dies will be up to me."
Hai Tang hurriedly shrank her neck. "Miss, please rest assured. Since I've been assigned to you, I'll be yours for life."
Shen Ruxu nodded and led Hai Tang all the way out of the residence towards the Nanguo Residence in Pear Blossom Lane.
But she still kept alert.
When they arrived at Pear Blossom Lane, she let Hai Tang go buy medicinal ingredients while she herself slipped into the Nanguo Residence...
...Three days later.
After three days and three nights of harsh interrogation, Concubine Wan finally confessed everything from that year.
It turned out that since she was young she bore a striking resemblance to Nalan Xing.
Someone joked that Nalan Xing was her never met elder sister. After she heard about this, she ran several streets over just to secretly take a look. When she saw Nalan Xing’s real appearance she was filled with astonishment.
She came from a poor family. Her parents were both gamblers who gambled away their family fortunes and sold her off to a brothel to repay their debts.
Her days there became increasingly bitter. In her young age she had already fallen into despair at life.
Yet she discovered that Nalan Xing, who shared her looks, was instead her extreme opposite.
Nalan Xing was cheerful and bright with a radiant smile. She was doted on by her parents and lived a comfortable and happy life.
What was most enviable was that she actually had the fortune to encounter the current Tianqi Emperor. They fell in love when he was still Prince Rui!
After she learned about this she was furious.
For a long time she refused to take any clients. The madam yanked her hair and beat her while scolding her. Every time, she would think viciously, why, why does Nalan Xing get to live so well while she has to struggle bitterly in this quagmire?
The more she thought about it the more she could not accept it. That resentment and hatred without cause gradually proliferated in the dark recesses of her heart, making her increasingly unable to control herself.
The times she secretly watched Nalan Xing grew more and more frequent. Each time hiding in the dark corner like a rat unable to see daylight, carefully and despicably peeping at the life upstairs.
She knew she was disgusting, lowly, and frightening.
But she could not restrain herself. More than once she thought of killing Nalan Xing and taking her place.
It was not until Prince Rui was taken away from Changzhou... She knew, the chance had finally arrived. Heaven was still standing on her side.
She began to seize opportunities to find times when Nalan Xing was alone.
Mrs. Lin had a slight smile at the corner of her mouth, feeling rather proud in her heart. "Perhaps after this battle, when it is over, he will come back. He still needs to come back to see A Ying give birth to her child."
Shen Ruxu's smile froze for a moment, but she still had to maintain a false smile in front of Mrs. Lin. "Mother is right. Sister Gu is also gradually getting bigger this month. In another four or five months the Eldest Prince will also be born. No matter what, the Prince must come back to be with her for the delivery."
Mrs. Lin knew what she was thinking and spoke seriously, “Ruxu, Mother knows you are not convinced. To tell the truth, it is my fault for letting you regard Du as your future husband since you were young, which led you to have feelings you should not have. But now, A Ying is in Du's heart and there is no room for others. You should let him go."
Shen Ruxu gave a bitter laugh. "Don’t worry, Mother. Your daughter...has let go already."
Mrs. Lin looked at her approvingly and laughed. "You are not young anymore. Take advantage that Du is still in Bianjing and in a few days I’ll have him find a match for you and get engaged early. What do you think?"
Shen Ruxu panicked immediately. "Mother, please don't..."
Mrs. Lin frowned. "Why so reluctant? Could it be you still have unrealistic fantasies about Du?"
Shen Ruxu shook her head and hurriedly found an excuse. "It's not that... Daughter just feels it is too rushed. My medicine shop has just opened not long ago and I still have a lot of things to be busy with. Daughter currently has no time to get married and have children... What’s more, hastily meeting suitors does not necessarily mean finding a suitable husband. I just came to Bianjing not long ago and want to get used to life here first and get to know people before making plans. It would not be too late to come up with ideas after the Prince returns safely from the border. Don’t you think so, Mother?"
Mrs. Lin thought about it and agreed that made sense.
If she was not worried that Ruxu still had not given up on Du, she would not have wanted her to marry so quickly in the first place.
Except when it came to matters regarding Du where she was stubborn and unwilling to let go, this child was otherwise good in all other matters.
Now that she had also let go, there was no need to rush her marriage.
So Mrs. Lin agreed.
Shen Ruxu subtly breathed a sigh of relief and escorted Mrs. Lin into the Lingxi Pavilion. Her eyes instantly revealed a trace of fierceness.
This old Mrs. Lin was becoming increasingly biased towards Gu Ying.
Were her more than ten years of mother-daughter affection still inferior to Gu Ying’s recent fawning and flattery?
If she continued standing on Gu Ying’s side, sooner or later there would be a day she would kill this old wretch!
After sending off Mrs. Lin, Shen Ruxu did not stay in the Duke’s residence.
She went inside to fetch her cloak and walked out.
Hai Tang hugged an umbrella and followed. "Miss, it looks like rain. Where are you going? Let this slave accompany you."
Shen Ruxu turned around in the corridor. Her brows were knitted. "What are you following me for?"
Hai Tang smiled foolishly. "This slave is worried about Miss going out alone unsafe. What if you run into bad guys? Although this is under the Son of Heaven’s feet, there are still quite a few cases of things happening to women. Miss should still be more careful. This slave may be clumsy but she is strong and her life is cheap. With this slave by miss’s side, I’ll feel more assured."
Shen Ruxu was originally very annoyed by Hai Tang.
She had always felt that she was sent by Gu Ying to serve her and that they were not of one mind.
It was not until that night when she discovered Hai Tang covering her face crying alone in the room.
She went over to take a look and discovered that she had been slapped.
Only then did she find out that Hai Tang was previously a lowly maid doing menial chores in the back kitchen of the Duke’s residence. Due to her honest and silly nature and clumsiness with words, she had always been bullied.
In addition, her grandmother at home was sick so no matter how bitter her days were at the Duke’s residence she could only endure it.
Shen Ruxu never trusted anyone sent by Gu Ying. Later when she went to visit Hai Tang’s sick grandmother, she finally lowered some of her guard.
She reckoned, how could Gu Ying be so kind as to assign her a good personal maid?
It was only a silly girl like Hai Tang that she would be willing to throw over to her courtyard.
From then on, she had a little more trust in Hai Tang.
Because Hai Tang had said that she wanted to climb up the ranks and earn money to treat her grandmother’s illness.
There were no selfless people that could be trusted. As long as she was ambitious and had weaknesses, then they could walk the same path.
"Give me the umbrella." Shen Ruxu said.
Hai Tang hesitated worriedly. "The Fourth Young Miss from the Eastern Pingbo Residence was just kidnapped by bandits in the capital. Unrest has been happening a lot recently in Bianjing. Miss is really not letting this slave accompany you?"
Seeing Hai Tang's face full of sincerity, Shen Ruxu paused before saying, "Fine then, you can come with me. But don't ask too many questions or tell anyone else about my affairs, understood? Otherwise whether your grandmother lives or dies will be up to me."
Hai Tang hurriedly shrank her neck. "Miss, please rest assured. Since I've been assigned to you, I'll be yours for life."
Shen Ruxu nodded and led Hai Tang all the way out of the residence towards the Nanguo Residence in Pear Blossom Lane.
But she still kept alert.
When they arrived at Pear Blossom Lane, she let Hai Tang go buy medicinal ingredients while she herself slipped into the Nanguo Residence...
...Three days later.
After three days and three nights of harsh interrogation, Concubine Wan finally confessed everything from that year.
It turned out that since she was young she bore a striking resemblance to Nalan Xing.
Someone joked that Nalan Xing was her never met elder sister. After she heard about this, she ran several streets over just to secretly take a look. When she saw Nalan Xing’s real appearance she was filled with astonishment.
She came from a poor family. Her parents were both gamblers who gambled away their family fortunes and sold her off to a brothel to repay their debts.
Her days there became increasingly bitter. In her young age she had already fallen into despair at life.
Yet she discovered that Nalan Xing, who shared her looks, was instead her extreme opposite.
Nalan Xing was cheerful and bright with a radiant smile. She was doted on by her parents and lived a comfortable and happy life.
What was most enviable was that she actually had the fortune to encounter the current Tianqi Emperor. They fell in love when he was still Prince Rui!
After she learned about this she was furious.
For a long time she refused to take any clients. The madam yanked her hair and beat her while scolding her. Every time, she would think viciously, why, why does Nalan Xing get to live so well while she has to struggle bitterly in this quagmire?
The more she thought about it the more she could not accept it. That resentment and hatred without cause gradually proliferated in the dark recesses of her heart, making her increasingly unable to control herself.
The times she secretly watched Nalan Xing grew more and more frequent. Each time hiding in the dark corner like a rat unable to see daylight, carefully and despicably peeping at the life upstairs.
She knew she was disgusting, lowly, and frightening.
But she could not restrain herself. More than once she thought of killing Nalan Xing and taking her place.
It was not until Prince Rui was taken away from Changzhou... She knew, the chance had finally arrived. Heaven was still standing on her side.
She began to seize opportunities to find times when Nalan Xing was alone.
