Chapter 334 Spring Meeting with Auntie

Xiangxi asked, "Where is your sister from the same hometown? Did she reveal your whereabouts?"

Li Niang wiped her tears and said, "No, she died a long time ago to protect us. I don't know how my whereabouts were exposed. After I arrived in Shamen County, I met Wang Laowu. He was very kind to me and someone I could trust. So I entrusted the children to him and took him back to the countryside to raise them. I wanted to give the children a new identity so that no one would think of it. I wanted them to grow up safely and then plan for the future..."

Liao Jiu stared at her coldly, "You gave the child to Wang Laowu. Did you go to see him later? How did Wang Laowu die?"

Li Niang prostrated herself on the ground and cried like a tearful person. "I haven't been to see them. I can't go. If I went, I'd be afraid of exposing the children's whereabouts. I believe in Wang Laowu's character. He said he would raise them as his own children, so he would definitely raise them as his own. I also gave him money and asked him to buy a wife in the countryside to take care of the children. He agreed to everything.

He died while escorting us to the provincial capital. I figured now that the kids were settled, I couldn't stay in Shamen County anymore. It would be better to go farther, so I hired Wang Laowu and his escort agency to escort me... Unexpectedly, I was unlucky and ran into bandits!

"Are they real bandits?"

Li Niang raised her eyes doubtfully and said, "That should be it, right? We can't be sure about the bandits we were talking about back then. They might have been chasing me, or there might have been other reasons. Anyway, I was the only one who escaped at that time. Wang Laowu and the others were all dead. He risked his life to let me escape..."

When she said this, Li Niang cried uncontrollably, as if she had entered into her past memories.

She was the one who let Wang Laowu down.

The palace had saved her life, and she had long regarded it as her home. However, the palace was destroyed, and she bore a deep hatred for it. She had always wanted to avenge the prince and princess.

She had no intention of having any romantic relationship with Wang Laowu, and Wang Laowu was one-sided in his feelings for her. She just took advantage of and deceived his feelings.

Sometimes I feel guilty, but there is nothing I can do.

Wang Laowu said he would borrow money to redeem her and let her take the children to live with him in the countryside. Would she dare?

She doesn't dare!

The children were still young. As they grew older, they would change and become difficult to recognize. She couldn't do that. What if someone recognized her? She couldn't take that risk.

Obviously Wang Laowu was such a good man, and meeting him was the best destination in her life. But unfortunately... she said she didn't want to, she said she couldn't live through hardship, she said she was not the same kind of person as him...

At this point, she couldn't avenge the Wang Mansion, and Wang Laowu was gone too.

I regret it, but it seems I don’t regret it.

Li Niang said sadly, "I was the one who harmed Wang Laowu. I dared not return to Shamen County. I was afraid that others would monitor me. I could not expose the existence of the young master and his men. I have been wandering around, trying to speak up for our Xiangwang Mansion and our prince. However, I am weak and it is not easy for me to survive.

Just a while ago, I was hiding in the capital's largest flower shop, working as a handyman. Suddenly, soldiers came looking for me, so I quickly fled the city. I didn't know where to go. I was afraid of getting into trouble with the young master, so I fled all the way in the opposite direction of Shamen County until I got here, disguised as a beggar, and was captured by a gang of human traffickers. But people are still chasing me..."

After listening to this, Liao Jiu felt uneasy.

"About when did you find out someone was following you? Regarding your relationship with Wang Laowu, did anyone know about your relationship before?"

"My story with him was known to all the girls and maids in the brothels of Shamen County. As for when someone started following me, it was not long ago in the capital, only about twenty days ago. I felt they should have a portrait of me, so I kept disguising myself..."

Liao Jiu was getting a little impatient. "They have a portrait! They pretended to be you before and went to Shili Town to look for Wang Laowu. However, they didn't discover your identity as a maid in Prince Xiang's mansion at that time, and Dabao and the others were not exposed either. But now it's hard to say."

Li Niang lost her voice and asked, "How do you know? Even you from the Six Gates have found Dabao and the others? Are they okay?"

"Our master has an indissoluble bond with the three children, Dabao, Erbao and Nianbao. I knew it long ago that Dabao must be the descendant of Prince Xiang, but I didn't know the reason. So, I came to ask you today. Because of the matter of these children, our master is now investigating the rebellion of Prince Xiang. If there is any injustice in your Prince Xiang's Mansion, you can tell us without worry. We will investigate and clear your name..." Xiangxi said.

Li Niang seemed to see hope!

"Okay, I'll tell you everything I know. However, I'm just a maidservant beside the princess. Besides, there are some minor grudges between our Prince Xiang and the princess. I don't know the specific details of the rebellion. I can only talk about some small things that happened in our palace at that time. There really is no sign of rebellion..."

Over the years, I have been investigating the cause of the eldest prince's death. All the maids and nannies who served him were implicated and died, but I discovered that there is one nanny who seems to be still alive. Her hometown is Shamen County..."

Liao Jiu said "oh", which means why Li Niang wanted to take the children to Shamen County for no reason.

"Have you found her?" This is an extremely important witness.

Li Niang said, "No, but she must be alive. She must know something about the inside story. It was because she sent us the information in advance that we were able to escape early."

"What's her name?" Xiangxi asked.

This could be a major turning point.

"Her name is Chun Jian. When I entered the palace to be selected as a maid, it was Nanny Chun Jian who taught us. Nanny liked me very much and said that I looked like her former niece from her mother's family. She was very kind to me. Later, I was assigned to serve in the Prince Xiang's Mansion. Nanny Chun Jian said that the Prince Xiang's Mansion was not as dirty as other places and was cleaner. Later, she was assigned to the eldest prince's mansion to serve as his tutor."

"So how old should she be now?"

Li Niang is not very old. She is the princess's maid. She is only in her twenties now. She disguises herself to look older, but she is actually not that old.

"Madame Chunjian is about forty years old. Since she was able to notify me, she must have escaped first and would not die. I am the only one who knows that Madame Chunjian's hometown is Shamen County, but I have never found her. I only heard her mention it a few times and don't know where she lives or whether she has any family. Later, I was afraid that others would find Shamen County and expose the young master and his family, so I had no choice but to decide to leave Shamen County..."