Chapter 78

On the way back from the southern mansion, Su Mi kept thinking about what Auntie Lan had said.

When she first saw Auntie Zhao, she thought she had come for Su Zhen’s sake, but it turned out she had come for her position as a secondary wife.

And she had become a tool for Su Mingde to blackmail her mother, forcing her back to Jiangling City.

Now she realized why it took several days for each letter to reach Mrs.Yu. Apparently, the letters had to go through several intermediaries.

Upon returning home, Su Mi wrote a letter to Mrs.Yu and sent it directly to the Su residence in Jiangling City.

She was filled with thoughts and couldn’t focus. She didn’t eat much during the evening meal and went to bed early after taking a bath.

Su Mi remembered how Su Mingde used to take such good care of Mrs.Yu when she was younger. Now she wondered why a person could change so much. If it had been her younger brother instead of her, would her mother not be in the state she is in now?

…

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Ckd Zyd alvwadle qasx vbl pvweu assx yde vssj sqq vbl qwa nzsyj, alhlyzkdt y xssd-nszsale pkzj ascl wdeladlyvb. Tl bye y pzldela qktwal yde qzsokdt czynj byka.

Gp vbl essa srldle yde nzsple, vbl nsze qaytaydnl lxydyvkdt qasx Ckd Zyd oyp dsvknle cu vbl qktwal wdela vbl iwkzv. Fbl zkqvle vbl psqv iwkzv, alhlyzkdt y pxssvb qsalblye okvb pzktbvzu ekpblhlzle cydtp.

Ckd Zyd dsvknle bla xshlxldv yde cldv esod, alynbkdt swv vs tayc vbl nsadla sq vbl iwkzv sd bkp pkel, qllzkdt y pzktbv alpkpvydnl qasx vbl svbla pkel. Tl rwzzle okvb qsanl, nywpkdt vbl iwkzv vs pzkel esod.

Fw Yk’p dspl oyp ale; bla lulp olal vktbvzu nzsple, cwv vbl valxczkdt sq bla lulzypblp alhlyzle bla bkeeld elpkalp.

“Xrld uswa lulp.”

Ckd Zyd’p vsdl oyp dsv tldvzl; kv oyp bkp wpwyz wdiwlpvksdyczl xyddla. Fw Yk eyale dsv ekpsclu, yde pbl pzsozu srldle bla lulp.

Tla lulp, alplxczkdt rlynb czsppsxp, olal dso vkdtle okvb ale xkpv. Mblal olal qykdv vlyap tzkpvldkdt yv vbl csvvsx sq bla lulp, yp kq czkdjkdt oswze cakdt qsavb pnyvvlale easrzlvp.

Ckd Zyd pweeldzu qlzv y vktbvdlpp kd bkp nblpv yde qwaasole bkp casop yp bl prsjl kd y ellr hsknl, “Rp kv psxlvbkdt alzyvle vs vbl Fw qyxkzu vbyv’p xyjkdt usw wrplv?”

Since returning from the southern mansion, she has been much quieter, but what could possibly happen in the Su family to make her unhappy?

“No, it’s just that my mother returned to Jiangling City.”

Su Mi shook her head, not because she didn’t want to say it but because she didn’t know where to start. How could she explain the trivial details and the scattered emotions, and how would the Lord be interested in hearing all of that? So she could only lightly touch on this matter.

After speaking, she shifted slightly to the left and buried her eyes under the quilt.

This time, Qin Yan didn’t uncover the quilt. Instead, he lay on his side in the space she made, his right hand slipping under the covers and stopping at her forehead. His fingertip gently touched and smoothed the slight furrow between her brows.

“Su Mi, I don’t like hearing about trivial matters.”

The figure under the quilt moved slightly upon hearing those words, but Qin Yan ignored it and continued in his usual tone:

“But anything related to you is not considered trivial.”

***

In the courtyard of the Su residence in Jiangling City, Mrs.Yu’s face didn’t show much surprise when she received Su Mi’s letter.

She had returned to Jiangling City without informing Su Mi promptly because she didn’t want her to worry, and she especially didn’t want her to blame herself for all the problems.

When Su Mingde mentioned the matter of the secondary wife, Mrs.Yu knew it was just an attempt to persuade Su Mi to have Su Zhen’s child. After all, even in a merchant’s family under the Mingyin Dynasty’s regulations, the existence of a concubine was not respectable. So she didn’t believe that Su Mingde, a person who cared so much about his own reputation, genuinely wanted that position for Auntie Zhao.

Her return to Jiangling City was merely to delay going to the Lord’s Mansion at Su Mingde’s constant urging. It didn’t count as a significant event. However, Su Mi’s concern for her warmed her heart. Mrs.Yu kept the letter safe and prepared to write a reply to the capital, clearly explaining these complex relationships to reassure Su Mi.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside the bedroom. It was Chunlan’s voice.

“Madam, madam, someone is looking for you at the door!”

“Who is it?” Mrs.Yu found it strange. If Su Mingde wasn’t around, who else would come to the house looking for her?

“Madam, I don’t recognize her either. She says she was the midwife who helped you deliver Second Miss a long time ago.”

For some reason, when Mrs.Yu heard this, her hand involuntarily loosened, and the white silk cloth she held fell to the ground.

“Tell her to wait for me in the main hall.”

“Yes, Madam.”

***

Mrs.Yu arrived at the main hall and almost didn’t recognize Old Midwife Liu at first glance.

She was only a few years older than Aunt Yuqing and remembered her looking decent back then. But now, her face was full of wrinkles, her skin was dark, and her patched cotton clothes barely resembled their original form.

Seeing her nervously rubbing her hands, it seemed like she had been standing for a while.

“Liu Wenpo?”

“Madam, you’ve come.” As soon as Liu Wenpo saw Mrs.Yu, tears and snot streamed down her face. She knelt down and held onto Mrs.Yu’s feet.

Mrs.Yu furrowed her brow and took a step back, but she couldn’t shake her off.

“Why are you crying at me? Didn’t you move with your family to Qingzhou? Why did you come back?”

Seeing her appearance, Mrs.Yu knew that something had gone wrong at home. She thought Liu Wenpo wanted some money for survival, but what Liu Wenpo said next made Mrs.Yu’s heart tighten.

“I’ve come to beg for your forgiveness; if I didn’t come, I was afraid I would lose my life.”

“Explain yourself clearly.”

After finally stopping her tears, Liu Wenpo wiped her eyes and said, “Madam, it’s all retribution. When we arrived in Qingzhou, my old man stole my money and ran away. My son ignored me and didn’t even let me see my grandson. It’s all retribution.”

Deep-seated unease that had been hidden in Mrs.Yu’s heart for a long time became increasingly clear as she listened to Liu Wenpo’s seemingly random ramblings.

Her voice was trembling. “Tell me clearly, what do you want me to forgive you for?”

Liu Wenpo swallowed and took a few breaths before hesitantly and intermittently explaining the whole story. Her tone carried fear and nervousness, as if she were forcing herself to speak.

“Madam, back then… back then, it was Auntie Zhao who ordered me to suffocate your child as soon as it was born.”

“When the young master came out, he was still so alive. I did it just for those fifty taels. I… ” Liu Wenpo fiercely slapped herself. “I’m not human. I deserve this retribution.”

“Madam, I beg you to hold a memorial ceremony and let the young master rest in peace.”

“Madam, I was just following orders. I beg you, let the young master go find Auntie Zhao and never come back to me.”

From the moment she heard the first sentence, Mrs.Yu’s hand gripped Liu Wenpo’s collar, her mouth open but unable to utter a word.

Her whole body trembled, and in the end, she collapsed on the ground, letting Chunlan try to lift her to no avail. Only the hand gripping Liu Wenpo’s collar remained tight. Chunlan cried, but Mrs.Yu didn’t.

Like that, Mrs.Yu sat on the ground with Liu Wenpo through the night. The pitch-black darkness, the hall without a lit candle, reminded her of all those nights over the years when she heard her son crying. Countless times in her dreams, she saw his tiny figure huddled in some cold corner she couldn’t discern. Her tears finally flowed like broken beads, starting with a soft sob, then wetting her chest with streaming tears, and finally turning into a hoarse cry.

Mrs.Yu’s grip on Liu Wenpo’s hand had gone numb. Her eyes were hollow, and her last trace of calm before madness faded away. In a hoarse voice, she said her first words after all that time to Liu Wenpo:

“Why did you sell him? Why did you sell him?”