"No accidents? Then why did my mother get sick?"

"Mrs. Liu's birth was indeed smooth. Her illness... well... wasn't caused by childbirth."

Speaking of Aunt Liu, Grandma He was not as calm as before. She kept twisting and turning in her chair, as if she had something to hide.

"Just tell me what you want to say. I can handle it."

"Okay... Second Miss, do you know about your mother's identity?"

"I know. She is a criminal slave."

"Yes, and she's not just an ordinary criminal slave. Let me put it this way, she is, she is in the official prostitute camp, you understand?"

This... I don't think I've ever heard of it. But it makes sense. Just like when Sun Zi was worried about his family, his immediate family members were exiled, so the servants were sold off. As for where they were sold, sometimes they had no choice.

"Grandma He, if I understand correctly, you're saying that my mother's postpartum illness isn't due to childbirth, but to her past experiences?"

"Yes, but that's not true. Giving birth only exacerbated her original condition. As for why she suddenly passed away after so many years, I don't know."

"Mrs. Gu said that my mother would never have another child after giving birth to me. Is this true?"

"Indeed. And she suggested I do something, but you know me, I wouldn't do it."

Xu Yixing fell silent again. So, although Mrs. Gu and Mrs. Gu had the intention to harm others, they did not succeed.

The two concubines died of one suicide and the other from an old illness and sleeping with my father.

Xu Yixing was speechless. Her mother had died giving birth to her. Although she had suspected it long ago, once it was confirmed, only she knew the pain she felt.

"Grandma He, thank you anyway. I was too abrupt today. I hope you can forgive me."

"Second Miss, you're too polite. Actually, over the years, there have been people like you asking about my family's past. I've told you everything I know, and the things I don't know will just become history. Second Miss, I hope you'll accept my condolences. By the way, when you marry the Seventh Prince, you must ask me to deliver your baby!"

Xu Yixing fled in panic. What the hell, you are like an ox-headed and horse-faced monster, and you are specifically designed to jinx the women of our Xu family. How dare I look for you!

After leaving the He family, Xu Yixing boarded the carriage and returned, sitting in the carriage with Si Wen. There was silence for a long time, with no one speaking.

"Miss, this Grandma He is such a good person." Si Wen praised sincerely. Xu Yixing nodded lightly, his thoughts elsewhere.

Seeing this, Si Wen knew that the young lady was sad, so he deliberately found a new topic to talk about: "Look at Granny He, she's already seventy years old, but her ears and eyes are still sharp, and her memory is still so good. She's really amazing!"

"Yes." Xu Yixing lowered his head. He was still lost in his memories, but suddenly he became clear-headed. "You, can you say it again?"

"Ah?" Si Wen was frightened by Xu Yixing's reaction. He looked at her and didn't say anything else.

"Si Wen, you're right. It's been twenty years. Who in their right mind would remember this so clearly?"

"But... what do you mean?"

"If it's about those dangerous situations, it's reasonable for her to remember them, but why does she remember so clearly about a smooth birth like my mother's?"

"This... maybe it's because we happened to talk about our family that she remembered it."

"She just said clearly that the last time she went to the Xu Mansion was to deliver my mother's baby. But how come she also knew that my mother died of illness a few years later? Could it be that there was someone in the mansion who specifically informed her?"

"Then...then you have doubts?" Si Wen also understood Xu Yixing's point, and his heart was in turmoil.

"Si Wen, call a few shadow guards tonight and let's go to the He family again!"

Xu Yixing refused to believe this. His family's ancestral grave had good feng shui, so how could all the mothers die while the children were fine? It didn't make sense.

Just now, Grandma He answered questions fluently without any stumbling. This is definitely not normal!

After returning to the mansion, Xu Yixing first went to the ancestral hall in the backyard and burned a few incense sticks for his mothers who had died early.

"Mother, if you are still alive, please bless me and help me track down the culprit and punish the evildoer. And at the same time, help me escape from Lu Anyuan's clutches. Your daughter will be grateful to you forever!"

He bowed three times before returning to his room to have lunch.

I heard Lu Anyuan invited me to have tea, but Xu Yixing was avoiding him, so he flatly declined. I have something important to do right now, so who has time to play around with you?

It was a dark and windy night, a good night for killing. Under the cover of Ying Jiu, Xu Yixing brought Si Wen, wearing a black cloak and three black cloth strips on his right arm, and went out like a warrior.

All the shadow guards in the capital have arrived today, a total of five of them. These five people can easily deal with Grandma He, and even helping him jump out of the city wall of Kyoto is not a problem.

"Listen carefully. Find Granny He and tie her up for me. I'll be waiting for you at the abandoned land temple in the south of the city. Don't alert too many people."

"yes!"

There were originally many beggars in the land temple, but when Xu Yixing arrived, there was no one there. It seemed that the shadow guard had taken care of it for him in advance.

Xu Yixing looked at the somewhat broken statue and silently recited his wish in his heart.

"Miss, the charcoal basin you requested..." Si Wen placed the basin at her feet, sweating profusely. It was hot, and he didn't know what the lady wanted it for.

"Yes. When Granny He comes later, you don't have to be nice to her. As soon as I wink, you can burn her with this iron. Remember, don't burn your mouth!"

"Miss, lynching is against the law..."

"That's for a good person. For someone like that, we kill them first and investigate later. We will never wrongly accuse her."

"Oh well."

"Yingjiu, is it okay for me to ask you to take the statement?"

Ying Jiu sat on the beam with a few pieces of paper in his hand. He gestured to Xu Yixing, indicating that there was absolutely no problem.

Seeing this, Xu Yixing asked everyone to hide and sit on the ground with their legs curled up. Not long after, a child only half the height of a man entered the land temple. There was no warning from the outside, it was one of their own.

Xu Yixing looked at the shadow on the ground. It was quite scary. There was something horizontally on top of the half-human-high object. Judging from the shadow, it was clearly a headless dog.

"This person is so heavy!" Ying Si threw the person he was carrying on his back to the ground and rubbed his neck. "When I went there, she was praying to Buddha. A little incense will do the trick. Oh, and she has a lot of guards. I think she'll be discovered if we stay here for too long. I'm leaving now."

"Humph, she's guilty as a thief. No matter how many people she employs or how much incense she burns, it won't help. You need to wake her up first!"

"Oh, yes." Ying Si turned back, rubbed his body with his fingers, and put them under Grandma He's nose, and she started coughing.

When Grandma He slowly woke up, she saw a broken statue of the Earth God, which scared her.