Chapter 201 My Child Who Raised Me for Nearly Twenty Years

Madam Xie was so shocked by his words that she couldn't speak.

At this moment, Xie Lei said again, "Grandfather has always been intolerant of disobedience. This time you plotted against Jiang Yu, and when Grandfather questioned us, we had that kind of attitude, but the matter was just passed by so easily."

"Yes...yes, how did it pass so easily?" Madam Xie trembled with fear as she thought of Xie Yun's usual strictness.

"I've been thinking about it ever since I got back..."

"What did you think of?" Madam Xie asked Xie Lei cautiously, though she had thought of it herself.

Xie Lei's clenched fist cracked as he looked at Madam Xie and said, "If we can't get through this crisis, and if they have to push someone else out, who will it be?"

The mother and son looked into each other's eyes, and they both saw the answer in each other's eyes.

Madam Xie Er grasped Xie Lei's hand. "What should we do? Lei'er, what do you think we should do?"

Xie Lei's face was terribly gloomy. He had always been proud to be a member of the Xie family and had always worked hard to contribute to the family. But he never expected that he would become a victim of the family in the end.

"Let me think about it some more. At worst, we'll both go down together," Xie Lei said through gritted teeth.

Madam Xie began to sob, "Why won't they give us a way to survive?"

......

The mother and son chatted until late at night before Xie Lei left. Madam Xie barely slept all night and felt groggy the next day. After a simple breakfast, she took a sedan chair and left the mansion to keep her appointment.

When she arrived at the private room in the teahouse, she pushed open the door and was shocked to see the person inside. Then she was so angry that she trembled all over and stared at the person with her eyes fixed on him.

"Isn't Madam Xie coming in?" Lan Mudan, sitting in front of the tea table, asked Madam Xie with a smile.

Madam Xie stood there without moving. She knew Lan Mudan well. She had argued with Xie Zihui many times because of this woman, but Xie Zihui had never compromised.

Xie Zihui died, and she thought Lan Mudan would also disappear from her life, but she never expected her to reappear.

"Madam, please come in. Who knows what kind of gossip will spread if someone sees you like this." Lan Mudan still had a smile on her face, but that smile was extremely irritating to Madam Xie.

She stepped inside, closed the door, and sat down opposite Lan Mudan. "Why is it you? What do you want?"

Lan Mudan smiled and poured a cup of tea, placing it beside her. Then she said, "I invited you here, Madam, because it is an important matter."

"What could possibly be between us?" Madam Xie said through gritted teeth.

Lan Mudan laughed again, "My wife raised my child for nearly twenty years, and there are many things between us."

Madam Xie did not understand what she meant at first. "How could I raise your child? What a joke."

"Hasn't the Second Madam noticed that the Second Young Master looks somewhat like me?" Lan Mudan asked bluntly.

"You're talking nonsense!" Madam Xie stood up abruptly. "Who are you? Who are my sons? You...you..."

Madam Xie couldn't finish her sentence because she noticed that Xie Lei's eyebrows and eyes were almost identical to Lan Mudan's.

“I can’t prove it with just words, and if you don’t believe me, Madam, I’ve brought witnesses with me today.” Lan Mudan turned to the screen and said, “Come out.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a woman in her fifties walked out from behind the screen and knelt down in front of Madam Xie with a thud.

Madam Xie looked down at her, and after carefully examining her, her hands trembled uncontrollably. "You are Chunmei?"

"Yes...this servant is Chunmei." The woman kowtowed repeatedly, her hands on the ground. "This servant is sorry, this servant deserves to die, this servant deserves to die..."

Seeing her like this, Madam Xie nearly fainted. She braced herself on the table, her eyes fixed on the woman named Chunmei, and asked, "What...what did you do?"

Chunmei dared not look up at Madam Xie, and knelt on the ground with her head down, saying, "You... you had a difficult childbirth, and the child died after it was born. Master Xie gave me a child and asked me to tell you that the child was yours."

"You're talking nonsense." Madam Xie raised her hand and threw the teacup at Chunmei. The cup hit Chunmei's forehead, and blood flowed out instantly.

"You gave me the baby right after I gave birth. Did he know beforehand that my child would die?" Madam Xie questioned.

“This servant…this servant didn’t know,” Chunmei said. “You did give birth to a stillborn baby. This servant didn’t dare tell you after I found out, so I…I told the Second Master. The Second Master glanced at the child and then gave this servant a child.”

Chunmei was Xie Er's personal maid, and had served her since childhood, so Xie Er had no choice but to believe what she said.

At this moment, Chunmei said again: "Second Master was afraid that I would tell you about it, so he used my parents as a threat and drove my family out of the capital."

Madam Xie slumped into her chair, unable to believe that Chunmei was telling the truth, but she knew that it was very likely true.

At this moment, Lan Mudan said, "When I first started working with Second Master, I didn't know that you would give birth to a stillborn child. Our plan was to switch your child."

Lan Mudan looked at the pale-faced Madam Xie with a hint of pity. This expression only further provoked Madam Xie, who screamed, pulled a hairpin from her hair, and stabbed it at Lan Mudan's face. Lan Mudan quickly dodged, but the hairpin still grazed her cheek.

Hearing the commotion inside, Xie Er's maid and the people from the Duke of Chu's mansion, who were waiting outside, quickly pushed open the door and went in. They saw Xie Er holding a hairpin and stabbing at Lan Mudan again. Four burly old women from the Duke of Chu's mansion rushed over and pulled Xie Er away.

Lan Mudan calmly took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her face, looked at Madam Xie and said, "Even if you kill me, the Second Young Master is still my son, and that won't change the fact that you raised my child for nearly twenty years."

"You're talking nonsense! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you!" Madam Xie was about to pounce on Lan Mudan again, but she was stopped by the four old women from the Duke of Chu's mansion.

An old woman even said, "Second Madam, if I were you, I would go back now and demand an explanation from the person in charge of the Xie family."

Madam Xie seemed not to hear her words and struggled to stab the blue peony with her hairpin again.

“Madam, let’s go back and demand an explanation from the old master,” said one of Madam Xie’s maids. “Once we get back, it won’t be difficult for you to deal with her.”

It's obvious that they don't have as many people as Lan Mudan's side, and if they fight again, they'll likely be the ones who suffer.

Madam Xie calmed down a bit, and looked at Lan Mudan with venomous eyes, saying, "You wait."

She turned and walked out. After she left the tea room, Li Zhong came out from behind the screen.