Chapter 253 The half-brother begs his mother not to hurt Luo'er!

Zheng Wanxiu's eyes were filled with surprise: "You...you knew all along?"

Looking at his mother's expression, Young Master Jingchuan continued, "No. Perhaps it wasn't you who found out, but Mother, who already knew the truth?"

"You knew all along that Luo'er had been taken away by the midwife with a different identity, and you were just waiting for the right day to use this information. When the time was right, you revealed the clues to Old Madam Pei..."

Zheng Wanxiu did not speak.

Seeing her reaction, Jingchuan asked, "Mother, were you involved? Did you interfere?"

Zheng Wanxiu hurriedly defended herself: "I didn't! Mother, I hate Qu Shi for harming you back then, so when she was giving birth, I did have the idea of ​​killing her child as well!"

"But Mother saw the midwife do that before she even started, and Mother just watched without stopping her. Was Mother wrong for that?"

Jingchuan: "Mother is not wrong. But Mother, that Qu family is wicked, but what about Luo'er? How innocent she is, to have to pay for her mother's sins?"

"Like her son, she was born knowing nothing of the world's dangers or the grudges of you adults, yet she has to endure all the world's suffering. Is the son's suffering from childhood also a way of paying off his mother's debts?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Wanxiu impulsively raised her hand and slapped Jingchuan.

"You—you bastard!"

But as soon as she finished, she immediately regretted it.

She rushed forward, crying, and hugged Jingchuan tightly.

"Xiao Chuan, Mother... Mother didn't mean it. Mother was just a little angry when she heard you say those things."

"Xiao Chuan, don't hate your mother..."

Jingchuan shook his head. "My son won't."

"No matter how my mother treats me, I will never hold a grudge. My life was given to me by my mother, and I have caused her a lot of suffering and worry since I was a child. I owe my mother a debt for the rest of my life."

“But Mother, although I can only barely survive, I am no longer a child.”

"Your son knows everything you and your uncle have done."

Zheng Wanxiu was startled: "What...what do you know?"

Jingchuan: "You and your uncle plotted to bring Luo'er back to the General's Mansion, not just to stir up trouble in the General's Mansion."

"It's not just about trying to win over and use Luo'er, but also about one day destroying the General's Mansion to avenge the suffering you endured in the General's Mansion when you were forcibly taken by that man."

“You and your uncle… have ulterior motives. And all that you’ve done is for your son.”

Zheng Wanxiu quickly covered Jingchuan's mouth.

She stared at him nervously: "How did you know!?"

"Chuan'er, listen to your mother. Things aren't as you think. Your uncle and I did intend to use Luo'er to stir up trouble in the General's Mansion, and we were betting that she would make those people pay the price for her revenge!"

"In this way, I can say that I have helped my mother."

"But your mother and uncle also took pity on that child out of consideration for you..."

Jingchuan grasped Zheng Wanxiu's hand and pulled it down forcefully.

He looked at Zheng Wanxiu with sorrow in his eyes: "Mother, you are still lying to me."

“You just said that I am only Luo’er’s half-brother.”

"But you and your uncle turned around and told all the followers of the Lotus Sect not to mess with Luo'er. You treat her as your own niece and are going to protect her as the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion."

"Mother, do you think I don't know what you and my uncle are planning?"

"Although my son didn't admit it at first, Luo'er is indeed his blood-related younger sister! This is an undeniable fact."

"Perhaps this is blood ties? My son just pitied her and sympathized with her. After actually meeting her, he liked her even more, wanted to be close to her, and wanted to protect her."

"Mother, I beg you, please don't hurt Luo'er... okay?"

"Don't let your son die with regrets."

Zheng Wanxiu looked at Jingchuan, and could no longer hold back, sobbing uncontrollably into his arms...

Meanwhile, at the Duke Pei's residence.

The eldest son's residence, Pei Si Niang's house.

Pei Si Niang angrily smashed everything in the room, but she still couldn't quell her resentment.

When Lady Pei entered and saw this scene, she was so frightened that she cried out "My son!" She immediately ordered the door to be closed tightly again and had all the servants in the courtyard guard the gate before rushing over and embracing Pei Si Niang in her arms.

"Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister, do you really want our entire Duke's Mansion to fall into the same predicament as today, with everyone in the mansion arrested and imprisoned?"

"The imperial decree just came out from the palace to bestow upon you the title of Consort, and you're already causing chaos and destruction at home. If even a whisper of this gets out, our entire family will be wiped out!"

"My heart aches too! My daughter..."

Pei Si Niang then buried her face in her mother's arms and burst into tears.

She was the youngest daughter of the eldest branch of the family, and the precious child of the Duke of Pei, who was over thirty years old when she risked her life to give birth to her.

She was showered with love and affection by the Duke of Pei's family from a young age, and among all the legitimate daughters, she was the most noble.

Pei Si Niang was nineteen years old but had not yet been engaged. It was not because her family was reluctant to part with her, but because she was originally to be sent to the Eastern Palace to become the Crown Prince's concubine when she was sixteen.

Unexpectedly, the crown prince made a grave mistake overnight, was deposed, and sent to a temporary palace outside the main palace where he has been imprisoned ever since.

Pei Si Niang's hopeful wait was suddenly in vain.

She was heartbroken that year, but later her father personally said that as long as the Crown Prince was alive, there would be a day when he would return to the throne.

So Pei Si Niang waited there.

The Pei family rarely interacted with the outside world, and she rarely left the Duke's mansion, so she didn't care about the rumors circulating outside.

All these years, Pei Si Niang's heart has been set on the Crown Prince.

Although His Highness the Crown Prince is over thirty, he is handsome, dashing, and domineering. He is also the only prince who will eventually inherit the throne. Therefore, ever since Pei Si Niang met the Crown Prince when she was ten years old, she has always regarded herself as the Crown Prince's future woman.

She longed for it day and night, and stayed up late every night.

Once the Crown Prince returns to the Eastern Palace, she can marry him again.

She knew it would happen soon...

After Pei Si Niang endured until she turned nineteen, she was summoned to the palace and became a concubine of the old emperor.

"Haha...hahaha..."

"Mother, my youth is about to end!!"

"What hope is there for my daughter in this life?"

"Haha, hahaha..."

Pei Si Niang is going crazy.

She was caught in a chaotic mix of crying and laughing, unable to accept the reality.

Lady Pei held her tightly, covering her mouth: "This is your fate, it's your fate!"

"Fourth Sister, if it weren't for Prince Su pushing our family to this point, His Majesty wouldn't have taken you into the harem to protect us. You can't hate His Majesty."

"If you're going to hate someone, hate Prince Su! Hate him!"

"It's because his methods are too ruthless and vicious; he wants to kill our entire Pei family."

"And then there's Li Qingluo, the eldest daughter of the Li family, and Pan Li, the daughter of the Pan family. It was they who, together with Prince Su, drove our family to the brink of ruin, which is why we had no choice but to sacrifice you, my son..."

"None of this is your fault, nor is it our fault."

"It's fate..."

Pei Si Niang lay in the arms of the Duchess of Pei, crying until she fainted.

After settling Pei Si Niang in, the Duchess of Pei, exhausted, returned to the main courtyard.

When Duke Pei saw her enter, he immediately stood up and asked, "How is Fourth Sister?"

Lady Pei wiped her eyes: "What else can we do? She's been the apple of our eye since she was little. She knew when she was ten that she was going to marry the Crown Prince..."

"The legitimate daughter of the dignified Duke Pei's family can't even become the Crown Prince's principal wife, and it's bad enough that she can only be a concubine, but now she actually has to enter the palace to become a low-ranking concubine! Or rather..."

The thought that His Majesty was already halfway to the grave was heartbreaking for them, his parents.

Duke Pei sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. If it weren't for Fourth Sister's imperial decree, our Duke Pei's mansion would have been in real trouble."

"There is still no news about Sanlang and his father."

"Although Prince Su has returned to his residence and the people from the Dali Temple have withdrawn, his guards are not to be underestimated. Perhaps Sanlang and Father have already been captured by them?"

Lady Pei was startled: "My lord, if Father really has fallen into their hands, what... what should we do? Will our family be investigated again?"

Duke Pei: "The people from the Ministry of Justice also came around that time. Zhang Ji is a man of Prince Su. They want to dig up the corpses in the dungeon. If they really find something, this matter will indeed be difficult to handle."

Lady Pei was also surprised: "My lord, you really don't know? In that dungeon..."

Duke Pei: "I only know a little, but not much."

"For example, how many women have they killed over the years to make medicine for their father? How exactly did they dispose of the bodies of the people they killed?"

“I have never been to that dungeon. When my father was lucid, he gave me an order not to get involved in it.”

"So only Saburo knows everything."

"However, if we are truly forced into a desperate situation, I believe Sanlang will make a swift decision to give Father a quick death. In any case, we must not let Father fall into the hands of that Prince Su!"